The Perfect Nanny
by Jacquestheninja
Summary: Hermione got certified as a nanny. Her agency places her in the most unlikely place...Malfoy Manor. She is to care for Malfoy's spawn and she doesn't even know it. What will happen? Will Draco accept her as his child's nanny? What happened to his wife?
1. The Perfect Nanny

**Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling, except Serena. (This goes for the rest of _The Perfect Nanny_ because I know that I'll forget to post it :P)**

**The Perfect Nanny**

**Chapter I- The Nanny**

"_Draco come here…it moved." The woman in front of the floor length mirror said, excitedly. _

_She rubbed her hand on her swollen belly and turned around when she heard the door open._

"_Yes, love. What moved?" The platinum hair male said, as he encircled the pregnant woman in his arms and smiled._

_Draco loved the way her brown eyes looked up at him and the way she rested her head on his shoulder._

"_The baby, it moved." She beamed, taking his hand and placing it on her protruding belly. _

_They both waited for the said movement. There it was again._

"_Did you feel that!" The brown-eyed woman gushed._

"_Yeah, that's…that's our child." Draco was speechless. _

_This, however, made everything much more real. He was married to the woman he loved and they were expecting their first child._

"_I love you." Draco looked down at her and kissed her tenderly._

_His life was complete. In a few months his child was going to be in his arms and he would have a family of his own. That's what he always wanted. Life was good._

_**oOo**_

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy you can't go in there." Two Aurors stood in front of the entrance to his wife's hospital room._

"_I need to see her!" Said Draco, his heart beating frantically with fear._

_Earlier that day he received and owl stating that there had been an explosion in his wife's potion lab. He immediately rushed to St. Mungo's. That was two hours ago and yet, no one informed him of his wife's condition. They haven't even let him see her and he was losing his patience._

"_That's my wife in there!" Draco clenched his fists. _

_If they weren't going to let him in, then he was going got let himself in. He was about to barge into the room when a short man with glasses came out. _

"_Mr. Malfoy," The man began, "I'm sorry…"_

_Draco didn't let him finish as he pushed pass him into the room. There was a bed in the middle of the brightly lit room. A white cover hid the body that lay there. _

"_No." He gasped, hoping it was another person there._

_He slowly walked towards the bed and pulled the cover off, little by little. He saw her brown hair come into view and desperately removed the rest of the cover. Her face was pale, her lips set in a straight line and those beautiful brown eyes of hers were hidden under the closed eyelids. Her body was completely still…lifeless. _

_Draco felt a sob escape him. The woman he loved was dead and there was nothing he could do. He sat next to her on the bed and pulled her limp body to him._

"_This can't be happening." He cried in the crook of her neck, tears rolling down from his face onto hers._

_He felt as if his life was over. How could he go on with out his love? He rocked her back and forth in his arms, like if doing so would bring her back. Suddenly everything started to shake._

"Come on, wake up."

Draco opened his eyes and realized that he was having the same nightmare again. He looked over to see the person who had woken him up and was greeted with those beautiful brown eyes. The only reason of his existence.

"Daddy, you're awake!" The little girl said, wrapping her small arms around her father's neck.

"Yeah, thanks to you, Darling." He sat up and kissed his daughter's cheek.

"You're welcome." The small child smirked a smirk that Draco recognized all too perfectly, "Today is very important day." She said, getting off the bed.

"Really?" Draco was trying to remember what made this day so special.

"Don't tell me you forgot." The six year old said, placing her hands on her hips, just like her grandmother always did when she got mad at her grandfather. "It's Mum's birthday, we have to take her flowers." Her eyes saddened a bit.

Draco sucked in a breath. Yes, it was his late wife's birthday.

"Yeah, sure…wait for me downstairs while I get ready."

With that said, the little girl left his room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Today his wife would have turned twenty six ears old. He missed her every day and there wasn't a day that passed by without him thinking about her. At first, he thought life was over and not worth living. He remembered that day perfectly.

_Draco walked though the double doors of the manor. He was beyond destroyed and angry. He recognized that he had been an arse to everyone when he was younger, but did he really deserve this punishment? Without her here his life was over._

_Draco sat down in a chair in front of the fire place. He was going to miss her a lot. Hell, he already missed her. Her laughter, her smile, her eyes and her warmth._

_Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. They could be together again, but for that to be possible he would need to end his life. That would be easy, he could even make it painless. The idea was beginning to feel comforting… too comforting._

"_No." He whispered to himself. _

_Draco put his head in between his hands and closed his eyes. He couldn't think this way, it would hurt his family… but he could be with her again._

_As he contemplated on the absurd idea, he felt a small hand on his knee. He opened his eyes and looked down. Familiar brown eyes stared up at him with sorrow. It was his three year old daughter that had inherited her mother's eyes. Draco saw as her eyes glazed . She probably already knew._

"_Daddy." She said, as a tear ran down her rosy cheek. _

"_Come here." He swiftly picked her up and held her tight in his arms. _

How could I think of taking my life away when I have her._ He was ashamed of himself._

_With all his grief he had forgotten about his daughter. She was going to need him more than ever now and he was going to be there for her. Life had to go on, for his daughter's sake. She was the reason of his existence now. The light that will guide him through the dark moments. _

_He felt the small child sob on his chest. _

"_Everything is going to be okay," Tears ran down his face, "I promise, Serena."_

Draco was brought back to the present when he heard a knock at the door.

"Hurry up, Daddy." Serena's voice came from the other side.

"I'll be there in a minute." He said, chuckling at his daughter's impatience.

He buttoned the last button on his shirt and started on his tie. As he checked himself on the mirror, a paper on his dresser caught his eye. Picking it up he read the title aloud.

"The Perfect Nanny."

This must have had come from his mother.

Lately at work, he's been assigned to train newbies, meaning that he would be absent for most of the day. Since his parents were always traveling he needed someone to look after Serena. His mother had told him that she would find the perfect nanny for her granddaughter. That was a few weeks ago and every nanny that came by always left running away from the manor, screaming at the top of their lungs that they would never return. Nanny after nanny, they were all the same. None of them survived Serena's wrath, hopefully the one from this agency would.

Draco noticed the forms and started filling them with the required information. He wanted the best of the best of course and someone he could rely on. After reading the conditions he signed the contract and sent them through owl.

"Daddy, it's already been a minute." Serena whined.

"Okay, okay." He opened the door and picked up his little girl into his arms.

**oOo**

"You will be able to select the family of your choice." A woman in her late forties told the thoughtful brunette witch, sitting across her desk.

Hermione thought to herself how she had gotten to this point of her life. After the war she had planned her life out. She would have S.P.E.W. made into an international, or even a global, organization. She would have married by now and maybe even had children. A little boy and a little girl, but no. Every thing hadn't gone as planned. Try after try, year after year, her attempts to have S.P.E.W. recognized failed. Her pride never let her quit on her cause, but now she realized that she had sacrificed most of her life for that. _Damn it._

Hermione compared her life to her friends' lives. Harry married Ginny a year after she was out of Hogwarts. They have a six year old son named James and are expecting their second child. Ron is engaged with Luna Lovegood. While Hermione was…alone. Everyone had expected her to live happily ever after with Ron, but that didn't work out. They saw each other more as siblings than nothing else.

They all even did better than her, the Golden girl, career wise. Ginny played for the Harpies, but stopped when she got pregnant. Luna owned her own line of healing potions. Both Harry and Ron were Aurors and she…well she was now a certified nanny.

Becoming a nanny wasn't in her life agenda. Hermione never envisioned herself working in a field where it involved children. She saw herself as an Unspeakable or head of a corporation (like S.P.E.W., but that clearly wasn't going to happen). It all changed one night, when Harry asked if she could baby-sit James. It was all quite easy and she really enjoyed it. Weeks after, she found herself researching careers that involved children. At the end, she found the perfect career; a Healer in the children's' ward, but for that she needed two years of study at the Healing is a Purpose Academy . The problem to that was that it cost ten thousand Galleons per year, which she didn't have. Hermione didn't let that stop her and decided to get a job as a nanny and save up money for the academy. At least as a nanny she would be able to earn some experience in dealing with children. It also paid a really good salary. Hermione ended up training, for a nanny a year, until she was certified.

She was now sitting in the office of her boss, Diane Dimplestamp.

"Hermione, did you hear what I said?" Diane raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Have you chosen a specific family?"

Diane had been very cooperative with Hermione and also cared for the younger witch.

"It really doesn't matter what family it is." Hermione smiled.

It wasn't that important who's child she was going to look after because she knew she would do her best, as always. The only thing that mattered was reaching her goal and becoming a children's Healer.

"Fine." The older witch smiled and took out a file from her desk. "Since you are one of my top nannies I am going to place you with…"

Hermione spaced out thinking of how much she was giving up for this. She would have to sign a contract that compromised her with staying -more like living- with the family for a whole year. After the contract was over she could remain with the same family or do as she willed. But if she wanted out before the contract was over she would have to pay five thousand Galleons for breaking the contract. She would also have to be committed to the children and put their needs before hers. Although it sounded like if she was losing half of her freedom, she didn't mind. Doing this would only bring her closer to her dream career. Every thing was planned out; she would stay with a family for a year, then study at the Healing is a Purpose academy, graduate and then work at St. Mungos at the children's ward. This was all too exciting that Hermione didn't hear the name of the child she was going to care for.

"Hermione, look over the documents, read the family's information and sign the contract if everything suits you." Diane handed her the documents and a quill.

Without a second glance at the contract, Hermione signed it. Right then she felt a cold shiver go through her spine, but ignored it.

"Ok, we're all set now." Diane took the documents and put them inside a drawer in her desk. "Meet me here tomorrow and we'll head over to meet your assigned family.

Hermione stood up and shook hands with Diane and left to go pack her things.

**oOo**

Hermione wasn't having the best of days. The entire night she wasn't able to fall asleep and every time she did she had the same nightmare over and over. In the dream, she couldn't see anything, but she always heard the screams of a child, like if they were in pain. Resulting in her now being a bit grouchy, she just hoped that her day got better.

Hermione met up with Diane, who was now readying herself to Apparate both of them to their destination.

Diane notice Hermione fidgeting with her hands and it reminded her of when she was set to stay with her first family.

"Don't worry, my dear." She gave the younger witch a comforting pat on the back. "This family is going to treat you well. The M-"

"_Beep… beep… beep!" _Diane's alarm watch went off.

"It's time." Diane said.

The older witch held on to Hermione's shoulder and Apparated them to a manor.

"Here we are." Diane announced, looking around and for some one to greet them. "Hmm, it seems no ones home."

Hermione was taken aback by her new 'home'. It seemed that they had Apparated to the guest room of the mansion. She felt the same cold shiver run down her spine again. Why was she feeling like this? It was like if something bad was going to happen. As she scanned her surroundings, Hermione noticed that it seem familiar, like if she's already been there before.

"We should probably leave." Hermione said, forgetting about her Gryffindor courage.

"Nonsense, we'll just wait." Diane said.

After a while of silence, they heard a noise and then someone speak.

"Who are you?"

Both Diane and Hermione turned to see who had spoken and found a small girl standing by the fireplace. The child held a sophisticated poise and innocence. She had shoulder length, platinum blonde curly hair and brown honey eyes and was dressed in a white and yellow pleated dress. It reminded Hermione of the dolls she had when she was a child.

"Hello, there. I'm Diane Dimplestamp." Diane walked closer to the child. "We are here from the Perfect Nanny agency. Are your parents home?"

The small girl stared at Diane like if she had grown a second head.

"No. My Daddy said he was going to be a bit late." The little girl walked over to a frozen Hermione, "Who are _you_." She said, poking Hermione's knee.

The brunette witch gave her boss an anxious look and the older witch sent her an approving nod.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Your new nanny." She smiled at the child. _She is so adorable._

The small child frowned. "Hmm, ok. Piglet." She said as, Piglet, the elf appeared.

"Yes, Miss Serena." The elf bowed his head.

"Take Miss Granger's things to her room." Hermione was impressed by the amount of maturity the small girl showed.

The elf complied and with a pop it disappeared with Hermione's belongings.

"_Beep…beep… beep!" _Diane's watch went off again.

"Wow, its time for me to deliver another nanny. I wish you the best my dear." She hugged Hermione and Disapparated.

After Diane left there was an awkward silence between Hermione and Serena.

"So, what do you want to do sweetie." Hermione broke the silence.

"I don't like you." Serena said, frowning.

Hermione was taken aback with the child's comment, but remained calm. She remembered what one of her books said; not all children take good to their nanny the first days.

"Would you please show me to my room?" Hermione asked, evenly.

Serena nodded and started walking.

When Hermione got to her new room she was impressed by how big it was. She spotted her suitcases and started unpacking. Hermione noticed Serena surveillance all of her movements, with the same frown plaster on her face. _She kind of looks like…no, why would I think that._ For a minute there Hermione thought this child might be related to her Slytherin childhood nemesis. Setting her wand on the nightstand, Hermione walked into the walk-in closet to hang her clothing.

Serena observed the new nanny organize her things. Why was she here? She could take care of herself. Serena smirked as she remembered her past nannies screaming and running out of the manor. Swearing that would never be back. All of those pranks she played on them worked so well, that she knew this nanny wouldn't stand them either and leave.

Serena saw as Hermione placed her wand on the desk by the bed. Her eyes lit up as she looked at her surroundings and noticed she was alone… with the wand. Licking her lips, she crawled across the bed, towards the wand. She checked her surroundings once again, grabbed the wand and made a run for it.

At the same time, Hermione walked out of the closet, happy with the way she organized her clothes. She then saw Serena sprinting out of her room clutching a wooden stick in her small hands. After a second, Hermione realized that it was no ordinary wooden stick, but _her_ wand.

"Hey! Come back!" She ran after the small child.

Thankful she had longer legs than Serena's, she ran faster.

Serena caught Hermione running after her and went down the grand stairs, hoping it would slow the dumb nanny down.

"Give me that!" Hermione panted as she ran down the stairs and towards the child.

"NO!" Serena screamed as Hermione caught her from behind.

The brunette witch wrestled with the six year old blonde until she finally had her wand in her hand.

"You shouldn't take things that don't belong to you!" She scolded.

While Hermione tried to regain her composure, she didn't notice the front door open and close.

Serena's eyes lit up as she saw who arrived. _Ooh, she's in trouble now. Daddy is going to yell at her._

"So, this is the perfect nanny." A voice drawled from behind Hermione.

She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

_Please, please, don't let it be him. _She hoped.

Hermione turned around and was met with the grey eyes that tormented her through out her youth. _Shit._

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**Ok, so what do you guys think? This is my first Dramione fanfic, I hope you guys liked it. What do you all think Draco will do? Will he kick Granger out of his house? What about Serena? Please review, I welcome constructive criticism with open arms :D.**

**_-Jacquesthevamp_**


	2. Test

**Important A/N at the end :).**

**Chapter II- Test**

Draco saw as the new nanny turned to face him. For a minute there he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. An evil smirk spread across his face when he realized that the person standing in front of him _was_ none other that the only female of the Golden Trio, Hermione Granger. _So, she's the new nanny. Hmm…this could be fun._

"Granger." Draco calmly greeted, as his daughter ran into his arms.

"Daddy!" Serena said, excitedly. Placing a kiss on his cheek, which he returned.

Hermione was beyond shocked. How could this happen to her? Was she really supposed to take care of Malfoy's evil little spawn? Malfoy, for God sakes! The man she loathed since her day at Hogwarts. Hermione clenched her fists, trying to keep a cool composure and not hex the fuck out of him in front of Serena.

"Close your mouth, Granger, a fly might go in there. Well, no that there're any here." Draco's smirk grew at her expression. Her eyes were wide open and her jaw had dropped at the sight of him. "It's also rude to stare."

Hermione quickly snapped her mouth shut. _Stupid Malfoy._ How dare he speak to her like that. She regained her poise and took a deep breath.

"Malfoy." Was all Hermione could muster through clenched teeth. God knew she wanted to yell and curse him out, but sadly that was inappropriate in front of child. _Maybe later when she falls asleep_.

"_You're_ our new nanny." With Serena still in his arms, Draco made his way towards the brunette witch. He started walking around Granger, as if examining her. "My, my, my. What has the Golden girl become…a nanny of all things. I, for one, thought you'd be an Unspeakable or _better_." Draco mocked. He was trying to get her to react like when they were at Hogwarts. "How did _Spew_ work out for you?" He quirked an eyebrow when he saw her upper lip twitch. Ah, he was getting to her.

"S.P.E.W." Hermione corrected. Anger spreading through her veins faster than a forest fire.

"Yeah, whatever…_Spew_." He gently set Serena down.

"It's S.P.E.W. not _Spew_, Malfoy. Get it right." She was losing her temper, rapidly. Malfoy actually had the nerve to taunt her organization.. He probably already knew about her failed attempts and was just doing this on purpose. Like always, but this time she wasn't going to let him get to her.

"Hey be nice, Granger. Don't forget I'm your new boss." A smug Draco sneered.

_I'm your new boss_…that hadn't struck Hermione's mind at all. Draco Malfoy was _her_ boss. There was no use in denying it, after all she did sign the damned contract and agreed to live under his roof and care for his child. _Stupid contract…Stupid me._ It was her fault she was there… with the Malfoys. Hermione was so enthralled with planning her future that she didn't pay attention to what Diane had told her. _Fuck!_

"Cat got your tongue." Draco let out a menacing chuckle. Man, was he having fun.

Hermione had to bite her lips together so she wouldn't go on a cursing rant and instead settled on glaring at the blonde male in front of her.

Serena didn't miss the exchange between both adults. She could make out that her Daddy didn't like the dumb nanny. That would play well with what she had in store for the older witch. Deciding to act on her scheme, Serena broke the tense silence that had erupted.

"Daddy, this nanny is mean. I don't like her." She said in her sweetest voice and looked up at Draco with innocent eyes.

"I'm not mean." Hermione defended herself. "She took my wand without permission and I took it back."

"What can I say, she's a Malfoy." Draco smiled proudly and looked down at his little girl.

He knew that what Serena did was wrong and should be reprimanded for it, but he was just too entertained irritating Granger.

"That's your answer, just because she's a Malfoy she gets to do what she wants." Hermione was furious. "What kind of parent are you?" She couldn't hold it any longer.

The moment those word left her mouth Draco's eyes flared with anger. He stalked towards her clenching and unclenching his fists.

Hermione saw as his demeanor darkened. She knew that she hit a nerve by saying that, but it was the truth. Parents shouldn't encourage their child's bad behavior. Come on, this is Malfoy she's dealing with, he was probably raising Serena to be a pureblood supremacist, just like the rest of his family. Hermione wasn't going to be afraid of him only because he didn't like to be told his flaws. _I take that back_. Hermione gulped as Malfoy sauntered towards her. It was like if she was the prey and he the predator. She took several steps back until the back of her knees hit the chair behind her, causing her to fall on it. Both of his arms trapped her there as he took hold of arm rests on either side of her.

"Don't you ever question my parenting skill, got it." Draco ordered in an sinister tone.

His face was centimeters from hers, Hermione could literally feel his breath brushing against her skin. All she could do was nod.

Then it hit her, Hermione suddenly became conscious that she was in a house full of purebloods. They could easily get rid of her without leaving any evidence behind. This was bad…really bad. Refusing to think negatively and not show the least bit of fear, Hermione locked eyes with Malfoy straight on. Demonstrating defiance to let him know that she wasn't scared of him. His threats were useless.

There was a loud pop as a house elf appeared, breaking the tense situation. Draco straightened his back and stepped away from Granger.

"Master, dinner is served." The elf informed.

Draco nodded and the elf left with another pop. Taking his daughter's hand he walked towards the dining room

Hermione was mentally exhausted and had los her appetite. She stood up and started walking up the grand stairs to her new room, when Malfoy's voice stopped her.

"Granger, it's dinner time."

"I'm not hungry." She said, with her back facing him

"It wasn't a question. You _will_ eat when Serena eats." He said in a harsh voice. "And look at me when I speak."

Hermione took a deep breath, calming her rising frustration. No one ordered her around, especially a Malfoy. She reluctantly turned around and followed both purebloods into the dinning room. _This is just great, I'm about to have dinner with the enemy._

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Ah! No! Stop!" The brunette witch tried to shield her face with her hands.

"Die nanny Granger!" The blonde haired child yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Really, Serena?" A drenched Hermione completely stopped what she was doing. "You can't kill me with bubbles and soapy water."

Dinner with the Malfoy's went by gradually. Malfoy and Serena had acted as if she didn't exist. Hermione didn't understand why her presence was even needed there. After they were done Malfoy had instructed her that Serena always bathe before going to bed and then headed to his study. Hermione had an ominous feeling of being alone with Malfoy's spawn. Specially with the way Serena kept on smiling at her, which meant that she was up to no good…and that was correct. As soon as the Golden girl took her eyes off of the child, to prepare the bath water, Serena was no longer in the room. For almost an hour Hermione searched for the mischievous child, until at last, she found her in the kitchens dressing an elf in a pink tutu. When Hermione thought, that at last, everything was solved, the curly haired girl had the audacity to kick her and make a run for it, again. Finally, after ten minutes of running the exhausted child gave in and complied with her nanny taking her a bath.

It was like if water reenergized Serena because as soon as she got into the tube the chaos began, again. There was water being splashed everywhere, she managed to hit Hermione with her rubber ducky and was now trying to 'kill' her with bubbles. There was one question on this nanny's mind; where was Malfoy in all of this?

"If I try hard enough they might." Serena continued blowing 'killer' bubbles and splashing soapy water at her nanny.

"Everything okay in here?" Draco stood in the entrance of the bathroom.

He had heard all of the commotion that had been going on. Draco wanted to test Granger's capacity as a nanny and see if she actually survived Serena's 'wrath'. So far she wasn't running and screaming like all the past nannies. _Maybe she'll survive_.

"Yes, Daddy." Serena said as she pretended to play with her mermaid doll. "Everything's fine…right nanny Granger." She turned to nanny Granger, as she named her. It was originally 'dumb nanny', but her Daddy scolded her for being rude.

Hermione saw the fake innocent face Serena presented in front of her father. He was never going to believe her if she told him what a little brat Serena has been.

"Yes." Hermione sighed. "Perfect."

"Glad to hear that." Draco smiled at his six year old. "After you're done, I need a word with you in my office, Granger." Without further explanation, he left.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

After reading Serena a bed time story, Hermione headed straight to Malfoy's study. She couldn't help, but think the whole time about what Malfoy wanted to speak to her about. Maybe he was firing her or maybe he was going to yell at her for questioning his 'parenting skills'. Option two was the more likely.

Hermione wandered around the halls of the manor until an elf appeared and escorted her to his master's office.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned the door knob and stepped inside. Like all of the other rooms in the manor, Malfoy's study was spacious. The room was dimly lit, making her squint as she searched for him. Thanks to the lit fireplace, she spotted Malfoy standing in front of a window.

"You survived." His voice sounded eerily calm.

"What? Umm...yeah." She was confused by his statement. _Has he finally gone bonkers?_

Draco turned around and walked to his desk and signaled her to take a seat.

"Serena can be a handful, Granger." He said with all seriousness.

"Yeah." Hermione frowned, wondering where this 'conversation' was heading. Being the curious person she was she asked, "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco sat up straight on his chair.

"I need someone I can rely on, Granger. Someone who wants the best for Serena." He was speaking to her as a father and not as her childhood nemesis. "And frankly, I don't think you qualify."

_Malfoy did not just say that._ Hermione's whole body tensed. She wasn't _qualified_ to care for Serena. Now he was just insulting her skills. Anger boiled within her, _who the fuck does _he_ think he is telling her that!_

"For your information _Malfoy_, I am one of the top nannies at The Perfect Nanny, the first ranking nanny agency in wizarding London." Hermione abruptly stood up, slamming her hands on the desk. "I have the qualifications to take care of _any _child. Check my records."

"But your view of me is clouding your judgment of my daughter." Draco shook his head. Then stood up and walked towards the door. "Thank you Ms. Granger, but your services here are no longer needed." He spoke as if her had never met her before.

Was Malfoy seriously turning her, Hermione Granger, down? This couldn't be happening to her again. If she lost this job it would look really bad on her record and then her dream to become a children's healer would go down the drain. She couldn't fail again. Hermione wasn't going to let Malfoy ruin it for her.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Draco asked.

"I'm not leaving, Malfoy. I didn't go through a whole year of training for this to happen." Hermione ran a hand through her curls. "If you think that I am treating Serena based on the way you used to treat me, you are dead wrong."

Sure, she thought Serena was the devil's spawn, but Hermione would never mistreat the young girl because of the torment the father had caused her.

"I would never blame a child for their parents' actions. Why do you think I've put up with her whole day, huh?" Hermione didn't wait for an answer. "I've come here to complete the first step towards my career, Malfoy. I know that I can be that reliable person you're looking for. Serena will be properly taken care of." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Draco saw the determination in her eyes. Just like those days at Hogwarts. Apparently, she was passionate about this and that's exactly what he was looking for in a nanny.

Granger's passion also reminded Draco of someone very special to him. His wife too, was passionate with her career as a Potion Tester. He always saw her brown eyes brighten when she spoke to him about her job. That same passion, the passion Granger has, ended his love's life.

Hermione saw Malfoy's far away look. What was he thinking about? Was he really going to fire her just like that, without letting her prove herself?

"Fine. Stay." Draco pressed his lips seriously, as he caught Granger staring at him.

Hermione felt a bit awkward, not only because she was caught staring, but because of her little speech. Did she really just say all that aloud and in front of Malfoy. Yep, she did and he didn't even make fun of her or kick her out.

She sighed as relief washed through her. For a moment there she thought her plans were going to be spoiled. What surprised Hermione the most was that Malfoy believed her. Now she was curious of why he had, but what triggered her curiosity the most was the change in Malfoy. What or who changed Draco Malfoy? He wasn't the same person she'd known at Hogwarts. What happened to the old Malfoy?

"Goodnight." Malfoy's voice interrupted her thoughts.

He opened the door for her to leave. Hermione was almost out when she stopped in her tracks.

"Malfoy." She turned to face him. "The contract states that I should look out for Serena's wellbeing, everything between us remains the same…even if you're -she gulped- my boss."

"I wouldn't want it any other way, Granger." Draco could see the hate in her eyes, the same hate he still possessed for the brunette Gryffindor.

**I hope you guys enjoyed this. I don't have chapter III ready, but I'll post a sentence from it later on, so stay tune. Who thought Granger was actually going to get fired? I would love to hear about your reactions :). **

**A/N: A reader pointed out that my story sounded familiar to one that they've read. I read the said story to confirm it and I would like to state that it is not following the same plot. _The Perfect Nanny_ takes place nine years after the war, meaning that Draco was around twenty years old when Serena was born. Later on you'll find out how old Serena was when her mom passed away. Next, Hermione had a job, unlike in the other story. In this story she just decided to upgrade to a better career as a healer. Also, Draco's daughter hates Hermione and doesn't like her one bit. As the title states, Hermione _is_ a nanny, contrasting from the said fanfic. _The Perfect Nanny_ is an original because there will be a major twist in the story that no one knows about (except me :P). I still thank that reader for pointing it out, hopefully this helps understand the storyline as well. **

**If anyone has any questions do no hesitate to ask me through a review or PM :). **

**_-Jacquesthevamp_**


	3. Family Portrait

**Sorry for the wait, it's been hectic days. First my poor puppy breaks her paw and I had to rush her to the vet :(, then it turns out she needs really expensive surgery so now I'm working full time to save up for it. I hope you guys like this chapter, half of it was written at the vets waiting room :P. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter III- Family Portrait**

It had been a long night for Hermione Granger. Sure her bed was extremely comfy, but being in a house of purebloods, specially the Malfoy's, she felt the need to be on guard. At the end she concluded that the wary feeling was due to what happened to her in this very manor almost nine years ago. The excruciating pain she had undergone through the malice of Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione still had lingering nightmares of that dreadful night and being here just intensified them. What kept Hermione strong was her vision of becoming a healer and getting the hell away from here.

She also found it strange that she hadn't met Malfoy's wife at dinner. Thinking about this sparked Hermione's curiosity once again. Who did he marry? It was a pureblood witch for sure. Maybe Pansy Parkinson? Hermione hated that bitch; who always thought she was better than everyone. Especially for trying to hand over Harry during the last war against Voldemort. Other than Parkinson, Hermione never knew of Malfoy being romantically involved with anyone else.

"Ha ha! You can't catch me!" The curly blonde child mocked her nanny.

It had been an...eventful day for Hermione. She had woken up with hopes that her day would be better than the last. But her hope was in vain. When she got out of the shower her hair had 'mysteriously' turned green. At the sight of it she had let out a chilling scream that had Malfoy bursting through her bedroom door, wand in hand. When he saw her what did he do? The stupid git laughed and had the audacity to compliment her 'new look'. Serena stood beside him, her face red from laughing. Hermione had managed to control her temper and go along with Serena's prank by saying that she liked her 'new' hair. In an instant Serena went serious and stated that her nanny looked ugly and brown hair was better than green. Hermione was glad that her reverse psychology had worked and had won this round. Boy, did she pay dearly for defying Serena later on. After managing to survive several other pranks from the child, Hermione decided to take a break only to find her wand missing...again. What did the child have against her wand?

"Serena come back here!" Hermione chased after her small girl had turned the corner to another hall and snuck into one of the many rooms in the manor.

Hermione remembered this hall in particular, it was where Malfoy's study was located. Having a strong hunch that the six year old had gone into that specific room Hermione entered it.

"Sit nanny Granger." Came a small girlish voice from the desk.

Serena was seated in the same spot Malfoy was last night, with a smirk plastered on her face. Her small frame was a big contrast from the big, black leather chair. Now that Hermione studied the child, she noticed that Serena was a bit small for her age.

"Serena, give me my wan-" Hermione was rendered speechless by a painting on the wall, behind where Serena sat.

The portrait contained a family...a happy family. There was a blonde man who had his arm around a curly dark brown haired lady. He was intently staring at her. In the woman's arms there was a happy toddler with the same hair as her father's. Hermione couldn't believe Malfoy actually married that woman in the family portrait. She never saw them interact while at Hogwarts.

What caught Hermione by surprise was how _happy_ Malfoy seemed. His eyes were bright silver and his smile was high-spirited. He actually looked quite _attractive_. Hermione had never seen him show this kind of emotion. Taking a closer look she noticed something else in Malfoy's eyes. It couldn't be, but it was...it was love. He had the same expression Harry has whenever he looks at Ginny. Wow, Malfoy's are capable of _loving_. Yes, apparently they are.

"What?" Serena was irritated from not getting the reaction she wanted from nanny granger. She also noted Hermione with an incredulous expression. "Is there something on my hair?" She said, smoothing her hands over her platinum blonde locks.

Hermione returned her attention back to the youngest Malfoy. She smiled and shook her head as the child tried to fix her, already perfect hair.

"No it's perfect."

"I know." Serena answered all too smugly.

The brunette Gryffindor couldn't help her eyes from diverting to the family portrait. Malfoy has a family and a stable career, while Hermione was his daughter's nanny. Did everyone do better than her? She was the smartest witch of their age. How could this have happened? Oh yeah, she was to stubborn to give up on S.P.E.W. She was given the opportunity to do better, but due to her persistent pride, Hermione was where she was.

"That's my mummy." Hermione hadn't noticed Serena come stand next to her. "The one in the middle." she pointed out.

**oOo**

Draco gave out a tired sigh as he Apparated to his home. If being home only meant that he would have some free time, but no. He had to look over some papers and check the backgrounds of the newly hired people. Draco slowly made his way to his study. Without much noise he opened the door and spotted Granger and his daughter side by side, staring at his portrait.

The portrait that held his wife's image and smile. How he wished he could go back to those blissful days, where they were a family.

He suddenly felt as if Granger was intruding and tainting the portrait just by looking at it. How dare she come in here without his permission? Draco understood that he couldn't govern her actions, but this was still _his_ manor.

"What are _you_ doing in here?" He said through clenched teeth.

The brunette whirled around causing her curls to bounce on her shoulders.

"_You_ married Astoria Greengrass." Granger smirked. "What did she fall for your money or your looks."

Draco's muscles stiffened at the sound of his wife's name. How dare she assume such atrocities about his Astoria. Granger was just a filthy little mudb- muggleborn that doesn't know a thing about like, even if she claims she does.

"What Malfoy?" Granger pried. "Or did you just marry her for her blood status?"

"Shut up." Draco said in dangerous tone. "Get out of my office."

Serena once again caught the same tension between her Daddy and nanny Granger. Except this time she was confused as to what they were talking about, but her Dad looked really mad. Good, he probably wanted to kill nanny Granger with 'killer' bubbles, too.

"Daddy." Serena greeted Draco with a smile, but got no response.

"I'll leave when your daughter gives my wand back. " Why was Malfoy acting so hurt? It's not like if anything Hermione said offended him.

"Serena give Granger her wand back." He instructed, still glaring at his enemy.

"But Daddy I-"

"I said give it back!" It wasn't Draco's intention to yell at his daughter, but it was too late to take it back.

Serena's demeanor fell as her eyes started to glaze followed by tears. Why did her Daddy yell at her? Was he mad at her? It was all the dumb nanny's fault.

"I hate you." Serena harshly whispered as she glared at Hermione, handing the blasted wand back and ran out of her Dad's office.

"You didn't have to yell at her." Hermione sneered. "You're mad at me not her." She walked out before he could retort.

Draco slammed his hands on the desk, frustrated with the way he had reacted. Fuck, even Granger was right. He was mad her, at the world, but never at Serena. He saw the devastated look in his little girl's face and it pained him to be the one who caused that.

**oOo**

Hermione ran after the distressed child. She couldn't help, but feel at fault for Malfoy lashing out at his only daughter. If she hadn't taunted him about his wife then he wouldn't have been mad.

Now that she thought about it, why was he so upset about this whole ordeal? It was just a joke, not like if that really happened…well unless it did.

Hermione slowed her pace as she reached Serena's room, then knocked. After receiving no response she let herself in.

"Serena."

"Go away!" The small child on the queen size bed, bellowed. "It's all your fault! My Daddy never yells at me!"

"I didn't mean-"

"I said get out!" Serena got off her bed and walked towards the door and held it open.

Serena's reaction reminded Hermione of Malfoy last night. That girl looked so much like him, except with a touch of innocence.

The young nanny squatted in front of the teary girl.

"I'm sorry, Serena." She truly was.

Everything was silent except for Serena's small sobs.

"Daddy doesn't like talking about mummy." She spoke up, rubbing her eyes with her hands in small fists.

Hermione was confused by the child's statement. Why didn't he like talking about Astoria? Maybe they ended in a bad divorce?

"What do you mean?" Hermione wanted to know if her assumption was correct.

"Mummy…passed away when I was three years old."

It was as if Hermione's breath was knocked out of her. Astoria died; how? Malfoy was a widower. She instantly felt remorse for the way she mocked him about his late wife. Hermione wanted to take back what she said, but the damage was already done. The worst part; she owed Malfoy an apology, great.

She broke out of her stupor when she heard Serena sniffle. Hermione wasn't good at giving out her condolences, especially to a child. She saw as the six year old rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. Serena looked so…vulnerable. Entirely different from the little brat she met a day before. Hermione did what her heart told her to do. She extended her arms and took her nemesis' daughter into her arms.

Serena was surprised by nanny Granger reacting in such a way. Why was she hugging her? It felt weird. Her grandmother always hugged her, but her nanny's hug felt different…inviting.

The instant Hermione wrapped her arms around Serena's small frame, she felt her stiffen. She braced herself for another insult, but instead she felt the young girl pull away.

"I'm okay." Serena went back to her bed and sat at the edge. "I know Daddy is sad, but he doesn't like to show it." She looked up at her nanny with a look Hermione couldn't decipher. "You should give him a hug." She was serious.

Nanny Granger's hug had _actually_ made Serena feel better. It was about time a nanny did something right. She hoped it would comfort her Daddy as well.

Hermione was dumbfounded by her charge's request. _Me hug Malfoy, not in a million years. _She thought. There was no way she would ever do that. Not even if Voldemort himself forced her to do such thing.

"Right." She mumbled.

**oOo**

The platinum blonde haired child with brown eyes, happily skipped through the hall. Followed by her Daddy and nanny. Everything was back to normal. Draco had arrived several minutes after nanny Granger, to apologize. She happily forgave him, but made him promise not to ever do it again. She was also back to hating nanny Granger. Well, not exactly hating-after what Granger did for her Daddy-she only really disliked her.

Hermione could still feel the awkward friction between her and Malfoy. _I can't believe I did that_. But indeed, she did. Serena was every bit like her father, cunning. No doubt she would also turn out to be a Slytherin.

_How could I have fallen for her_. She couldn't stop scolding herself for falling for Serena's 'sad' face.

**FIVE MINUTES EARLIER**

_Hermione had just witnessed Malfoy apologize to another human being. Sure it was to his daughter, but it says loads of the 'new Malfoy', as Hermione put it. He was still the same git from Hogwarts, but somewhat different. It was clear as crystal that he cared a lot about Serena._

_"Just promise not to do it again." The six year old reprimanded her father._

_"I promise." Draco smiled down at his daughter, who had her hands on her hips._

_"Cross your heart?" Serena made an invisible cross in the middle of her chest._

_"Cross my heart." He chuckled and mimicked her hand gesture._

_Serena walked over to her nanny and raised an eyebrow. Hermione gave her a nervous smile._

_"Lets go down to dinner, shall we." The brunette said, walking towards the door. She hoped Serena forgot about their deal she greatly regretted at this moment._

_"Nanny Granger, you're forgetting something." Serena was serious._

_Dang it! Hermione mentally cursed and turned around finding Serena's eyes blinking adoringly at her. How can she say 'no' to that face?_

_"Fine." Hermione muttered._

_Draco just looked back and forth at Granger and Serena. What had she forgotten? Had he missed anything? He noticed Granger's hesitation as she agreed with his daughter. It was probably one of the many 'nanny' pranks Serena had in store. That serves Granger for putting her nose in where it doesn't belong. He thought as he remembered her mocking him. Draco was still pissed off with the way Granger taunted-…_

_Draco's thoughts came to a complete halt when he felt warm arms wrap around him. He felt the person's tense frame slowly collide with his. He looked and was met with a head full of brown curls. It was Granger. Wait… Granger! What the hell was she doing touching him._

_Hermione felt Malfoy stiffen when she wrapped her arms around his waist. She was feeling just like he was. She didn't want to do this, not at all, but his precious little daughter said he needed a hug. Hermione had declined, but then the little brat struck a proposal with her._

_Seriously, that child was too smart for her own good. At the end Hermione gave in to the said deal. Serena would abandon all ideas of pranking nanny Granger. In return Hermione would have to give Malfoy a hug to make him feel 'better.' She reluctantly gave in, knowing that living at the manor would be much easier without Serena's pranks._

_"Hug me back you dimwit." Hermione harshly whispered in his ear when she felt him try to pull away._

_"Grang-"_

_"Just do it, Malfoy." Why couldn't he just play along? "Your sweet daughter thinks that this will make you feel better. Now hug me."_

_That was the last thing Draco expected to hear from the Golden girl. He looked over Granger's massive curl to where his daughter stood. Serena had a hopeful expression on her face, which proved that Granger was right, again._

_Sighing in defeat, Draco hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her. Granger was soft and smelled like cherry blossoms, very intoxicating. Her hair tickled his cheek and was tempted to brush it away only to be able to run his hand through those caramel curls. He's always wondered if they were dry and prickly, but the hair that touched his face was soft and had a gloss to it._

_For an unexplained reason, Hermione's heart was racing and her hands were getting sweaty. She hadn't been in a man's embrace for a very long time. Sure, many guys hugged her, but it was a quick greeting hug. And of course Harry and Ron's didn't count because they were like brothers to her. This hug felt eternal, like if it was never going to end. The rational part of her brain was shouting at her to pull away, but something else, not her brain, but another part of her told her to stay. She didn't know how to explain it, but she blamed it on the guilt she felt for making fun of Malfoy's late wife. Yeah, that's probably it._

_"Malfoy, I'm-" Hermione was about to apologize when she felt his arms starting to constrict around her._

_Draco felt extremely awkward in the position they were, so he decided to have a little fun. With an evil smirk spreading across his face, he tighten his hold on Granger and held her in a firm bear hug that left her standing on the tip of her toes. He felt her arms dislodge from his waist and squirm. He chuckled._

_"You…let…go…" She heard him chuckle and cursed her weakness. "Malfoy…can't…breath…"_

_With one last squeeze Draco let go off her and saw her stumble a bit._

_"Ah." He sighed a fake happy sigh. "Thanks, Granger. I feel better."_

_Of course, he didn't. It just made things between both of them a lot more awkward, but he saw a bright smile spread across Serena's ivory face and it was all worth it. As long as she was happy he would be too, even if it meant hugging Granger. It wasn't a bad hug. A voice in his head commented. Draco was about to agree with it, but realized that it was Granger the voice referred to. It's Granger, her hugs are worthless. He concluded, although he didn't want to admit that he did feel slightly better._

_Hermione rubbed her shoulders. She was doing something nice for him and his daughter and he ruins her noble intentions. It would be the last time she tried doing something nice for him. Stupid git._

_"You're welcome." Hermione glared at him._

_Draco laughed at her infuriated gaze. It was easy and fun to get her mad._

_"How are you feeling, Daddy." Serena said, expectantly._

_"I'm great." Draco lied, but smiled and took hold of her small hand._

_Serena was glad that nanny Granger's hug worked. Apparently this nanny wasn't as useless as the other nannies._

_"Now we can go to dinner." The small girl happily skipped out of her room._

**PRESENT**

Hermione glanced over at the blonde wizard walking beside her. She wondered if he was affected by their hug…not that she was. Malfoy's face was serene with a hint of arrogance. Apparently not.

"What was it?" Malfoy asked without looking at her, but he knew that she was staring.

"What?" Hermione quickly looked away.

"You wouldn't agree to…do what you did." Draco turned to look at her, while they walked. "I know you Granger and I know Serena."

He was probably going to laugh at her if she told him about the 'deal'. _Great_.

"It was a deal okay." Hermione wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. "I hug you and she wouldn't play any pranks on me."

Draco let out an evil chuckle. It was the first time Serena actually made a deal with a nanny. He didn't want to admit it, but Granger was good.

Hermione stopped when she saw Serena enter the dinning room and the doors shut behind her. Her conscience was bothering her immensely and Hermione hopped this would be the last time she would have to do this.

Draco notice Granger stop.

"What's wrong now." He smirked. "You couldn't get enough of me could you? Another hug?" He teased.

"I've had _enough_ of you in this life time." She scowled. "I actually…wanted to ugh… apologize for what I said about Astor-"

"Stop." He cut her off. His face turned back to the dark, cold Malfoy she knew.

"No, Malfoy." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to offend you in that way and it won't happen again."

He may be her nemesis, she may hate him beyond limits, but her conscience has always won over her. Even if it was towards Malfoy, he didn't deserve what happened, specially Serena. They both lost some they loved and Hermione shouldn't be making jokes about it.

"Whatever." Draco saw the sincerity in her eyes and that's what frustrated him the most.

Why did she have to apologize? If she hadn't then he could always shove it in her face and make her feel bad for it. What bothered Draco the most was that he _knew_ that she was going to apologize, it perturbed him that he knew her reactions. He also didn't want to talk about Astoria to Granger because he knew that she would pity him and that's the last thing he needed, Granger's pity.

Draco walked towards the double dinning room doors and held one open for her. He was still a gentle man no matter what.

Hermione shook her head, she wasn't sure if he accepted or declined her apology. Oh well, at least she tried.

They silently entered the dining room when Hermione's hair in the back of her neck stood up. She knew that feeling…danger. She had felt it during the war, her instincts warning her that it was not safe.

"What the hell is that _mudblood _doing in my home?" Came a familiar and threatening voice.

Hermione froze.

**Eh? You guys like it? Who was the threatening voice from? (Well, I think that's pretty obvious lol :P)**

**Just wanted to say that Draco and Hermione's relationship is going to be progressing slowly through the chapters, they aren't going to fall for each other right away. Plus, they still hate each other. **

**So, I have another dilema and I only have a few minutes to explain it. My laptop's charging socket broke, it doesn't charge anymore. That means that I need a new laptop if it can't get fixed. So I'll try to post as soon as I can, but I can't make any promises. (Oh my gosh I have three minutes left!) I hope you liked this chapter and please review it encourages me :D. Oh and the next chapter is going to be lighter than the first ones. Remember if you have any questions PM me or leave them in a review and I'll answer :D.**

**Review...Review :P**

**-Jacquesthevamp**


	4. In Good Hands

**Okay, so here's chap 4. Sorry for the delay. I mentioned in the previous chapter that this one was going to be lighter, but I thought that it was the right time to present some characters. Hope you all like it :-).**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter IV- In Good Hands**

Hermione's heart raced furiously and could feel adrenaline rushing through her body. She hadn't felt that sensation since the war. Right then it felt as though it was happening all over again, she had to fend for herself, alone. Her hand automatically searched for her wand and clasped it tightly.

Realizing that there was a child present Hermione kept her wand, in a firm grip pointing down, but was ready to strike anyone who wanted to harm her.

"Well, she's my nanny, Gramps." Serena stated, like if it was obvious.

Hermione saw the man's eyes flare even more, if that was even possible. She had forgotten that the elder Malfoy lived at the manor as well.

Narcissa Malfoy was standing in an elegant poise, scowling at her husband, for an unknown reason to Hermione. Luscius Malfoy, stood in all his glory, beside his wife and granddaughter in arms. His steel gray eyes shooting daggers at Hermione.

"Nanny?" Lucius set Serena down. "This _M__udblood_ is my granddaughter's _nanny_!" He bellowed.

His right hand tightening over his snake cane, that concealed his wand.

"Lucius!" Narcissa scolded. "Watch your language in front of Serena."

"You're worrying about my _language_ when there's a filthy _Mudb-_"

"Stop." Draco interrupted his father's rant.

"Excuse me!" Lucius took a slow step towards his son.

"I said stop." Draco squared his shoulder.

He wasn't going to let his father intimidate him like when he was younger.

"Are you defending this _Mudb_-"

"Don't finish that word!" He knew his father wasn't going to back off until he got his way, but neither was Draco. "And I'm not defending her."

He really wasn't, the mere reason of him intercepting was because he didn't want to explain to Serena that vile word. He hasn't uttered that word for nearly ten years and he was planning on keeping it that way.

Draco glanced at Granger, to see her reaction, but he was met with brown eyes full of hatred. He flinched at the intensity of gaze, but found that it wasn't directed at him. It was towards his father.

"What's a Mudblood?" Serena's voice rang.

Everyone gasped and glared at Lucius for introducing her to that dreadful word.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. He was hoping Serena wouldn't catch what Lucius was saying.

"Serena that is a bad word and you shouldn't be saying it." Narcissa slightly scolded, knowing it wasn't the child's fault.

Serena crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn't fair that her grandfather got to say that word and she didn't. What did that word mean anyway, _Mudblood_? It also bothered Serena that she didn't know the reason of why Gramps was mad. Was it because he didn't know the meaning of the word, too?

"Lucius you should take this 'conversation' elsewhere." Narcissa frowned.

"This is my house and I'll converse anywhere and with anyone I want, with the exception of _that_!" Lucius rudely pointed at Granger.

Hermione's blood was boiling, her hand was shaking, ready to hex the eldest Malfoy into extinction.

"_That _has a name," Hermione said through gritted teeth, "and if you've forgotten it's Hermione Granger." She held up her chin, proudly.

"I will not have someone like _you_ speak to me that way." Lucius did the inevitable and drew his wand out, towards her.

Hermione's heart started racing even faster, it would probably explode out of her ribcage any minute now. Her brained was screaming to hex the old git for once and for all, but one look over to where Serena stood, stopped her.

Serena held an almost scared expression and her eyes had glazed with unshed tears. Hermione knew that if she did something to Lucius, Serena would never trust her, again. Blast it all! She wasn't going to let him hex her. What's the right thing to do?

Draco was beyond furious at the way his father was behaving in front of his daughter. He didn't need to look at Serena to know that she was scared. Taking a quick glance at Granger, he wondered if she was going to defend herself.

Granger was standing there, like the proud Gryffindor she was, disgusting. Her wand arm was at her side instead of pointing it at Lucius. Suddenly she did something that blew Draco away. Granger actually withdrew her wand, putting it away. She wasn't fighting back? _What the hell_?

Draco knew his father and he knew that the evil smirk on his face meant that he wasn't going to back down. Not even if Granger was defenseless. Draco let out a frustrated sigh. Why must Granger be so…so…ugh. He couldn't even put it in words!

Hermione withdrew her wand, determined that she wasn't going to be the one to inflict fear upon Serena.

In all her life during Hogwarts, Hermione knew one certain fact about Draco Malfoy; he was a coward when it came to standing up to his father. So when he came to stand between his father and her, she was speechless. Wondering if she was imagining things.

"Get out of my way, boy." Demanded Lucius.

"No." Said Draco, in a clipped tone.

He hated being a 'hero', if that was even the right word for what was doing at the moment. The thing was that he just couldn't stand there and do nothing. It wasn't for Granger's sake, but Serena. Draco didn't want his daughter to fear her grandfather.

"You're defending that Mudblood!" Lucius' eyes got wide with discuss and anger.

The eldest Malfoy's wand was unintentionally pointing at Draco's chest as he went to stand in front of Hermione. The tension in the dining room was rising every second.

All of a sudden, the eerie silence that had grown was broken.

"No!" Came a small girl's cry.

Serena ran to her Daddy and hugged his leg.

"Don't hurt him, Grampa." Her eyes were closed shut, as if bracing herself.

Tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks.

Abruptly, Hermione reacted on instinct and pried Serena off of Malfoy's leg and held her up in her arms. If Lucius was ready to strike, she didn't want Serena in the middle of it.

Serena buried her face on nanny Granger's neck and wrapped her arms around it as well. Her grandfather was scaring her. Did her Daddy do something wrong? Is that the reason Gramps is pointing his wand at him?

"Is Gramps going to hurt my Daddy?" Sobbed Serena.

Hermione felt an anger she had never felt before, not even during the war. She held on tighter to Serena, so her hand wouldn't go for her wand and hex the stupid, idiotic, self-centered Lucius Malfoy. Hermione's eyes were burning and tingling. No, she wasn't going to cry, it was just all of the rage building up inside her and she couldn't even do anything about it. All she could do was glare at Lucius.

Draco saw a torn expression in his father's face from Serena's comment, but managed to mask it quickly. He knew that his father loved his granddaughter, although he didn't show often or in front of other people. Draco has witnessed the way Lucius acts with Serena and it's completely different than the way he's acting now. One thing he was sure of was that Serena's words pierced through Lucius.

"See what you've caused." Interject Narcissa as she went to stand next to her husband. "You've scared our darling, Serena," She placed her hands on her hips, "Now put your wand away! Miss Granger is staying, since she apparently cares about Serena's feeling. I no longer have an appetite."

Narcissa was mad at her husband for reacting so irrational. Lucius had to learn to control his temper. Since they were back from their vacation, maybe it was time she took him to a wizard's anger management class.

Before departing to her room, Narcissa gave her son a kiss on his forehead. She also tried to give one to Serena, but the small girl was still clutching on to her Nanny. Narcissa bid a goodnight to Granger, but before she left she turned to around to face Lucius.

"I expect you in our room. We need to talk."

Since the end of the war, Narcissa was a changed woman. She didn't let men push her around, specially her husband. She loved Lucius more than he deserved, but she wasn't going to allow her family to go through another embarrassment because of his poor decisions.

Now their relationship was a new one, a better one. She had a say in everything which drew more communication between Narcissa and Lucius, thus them spending more time together. She knew that he enjoyed their time spent together, but didn't show it. Everything was perfect now. The only missing factor was a worthy daughter-in-law.

After Lucius reluctantly nodded at her, Narcissa left to her room.

"I'm taking Serena to her room." Said Hermione, still glaring.

"I'll be up in a bit." Draco responded, indifferently.

"No." Serena's voice was barely audible. "I don't want my Daddy to get hurt."

Lucius' face contorted into a pained expression, but once again hid it.

"He's not going to get hurt." Hermione said, before anyone spoke up. "Your grandfather was just performing a…uh…a security spell to check if you Daddy was okay."

She hoped Serena believed her sorry-of-an-excuse lie.

Serena raised her head, but her arms were still tightly around Hermione. She gaped between Draco and Lucius, noticing that her Grampa had put his wand away.

"Oh." Said Serena, wiping her tears with one hand. "Is my Daddy fine?"

Lucius was surprised that Granger hadn't gone off on what a bad person he was, instead she covered for him.

"Yes." Lucius said, clearing his throat. "Your father is well."

Serena smiled a tired smile. She was glad that her Daddy was okay.

"Thanks, Gramps." She turned to her Nanny. "I'm tired."

Serena yawned.

Hermione excused herself and left the two Malfoy men, alone.

It was silent for a long moment, until Draco spoke.

"I would appreciate it if this never happened again, Father."

Draco knew that his father wasn't going to like what he was about to say.

"Serena is _my_ daughter, therefore, what I do and say will go." Said Draco, as respectfully as he could. "You and Mum raised me, but now I am my own person and I will raise Serena the way _I_ believe is right. If I would to ever need help, I will ask for it. I also expect my parenting skills not to be questioned."

Draco let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. He hoped his father understood, Draco didn't want to take any drastic measures.

"I am not questioning your parenting skill, Draco." Lucius said, snarling. "It's unacceptable! A mudblood for a pureblood's child!"

"I no longer acquire the same beliefs as you Father, so it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" He looked at his son like if he'd gone mad. "She's dirtying our home. What will people think."

This was an outrage!

"I don't care of what people think." Draco was growing terribly frustrated. "It's not like if I'm marrying her for Merlin's sake!"

Why wouldn't his father just let it go? Serena was his daughter. Plus, Granger was taking care of _her_, not Lucius.

"Merlin, no!" Lucius gave an involuntary shudder at the thought. "The answer is 'no' Draco. Granger leaves, tonight." He said, with finality.

"Granger, stays." Draco said, defiantly.

He was no longer the teenage boy that was scared easily and he wasn't going to give into his Father's threats.

"Not in my home." Lucius rivaled.

"Then you leave me no other choice, but to leave the manor." Draco stared right into his Father's gray eyes, letting him know that he was serious.

Lucius was stunned by Draco's reaction. He would rather leave the manor than to release the Mudblood. Lucius, of course, didn't want Serena to leave the manor and he wasn't going to let that happen. That little girl had completely altered his life, for good.

After the war life was good, but somewhat dull. Like if something was missing, but everything changed the day Serena was born. Every day from then on was different than the other. She had literally brightened his life.

"Draco," Lucius paused, "Granger, stays." He gritted his teeth.

Draco was not surprised that his Father gave in so easily. He knew that Lucius had a soft spot for Serena, although he never led on.

He nodded at his Father and excused himself, but was stopped midway to the exit.

"Why Granger?" Lucius was curious as to why it had to be _her_.

Draco smiled.

"She is one of the top nannies in wizarding London and one third of the Golden trio," He gave his father a knowing look, "Serena will be in good hands."

Without further explanation Draco left the dining room.

"In good hands?" Lucius scoffed. "We'll see about that."

**oOo**

Hermione entered Serena's room, with the child still clutching to her. Through out her life, Hermione knew that she was need by Harry and Ron. To help them with the mission of destroying Voldemort. She's always been needed and she knew that. Now, she knew that she was needed here, for Serena, but it felt different. Her actions have always been carefully thought of, but tonight she had reacted on pure instinct. She didn't have to think about it twice, nor once when she took Serena in her arms, in order to keep her safe.

After Hermione had taken Serena a bath and dodged 'killer' bubbles, Malfoy had arrived and excused her for the night.

Hermione was still a bit puzzled as to why Malfoy was so keen in keeping her. It slightly worried her. What if this was all some elaborate scheme to get rid of her? Did he want revenge? None of that mattered, Hermione was going to be on guard and accomplish her task. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching her goal.

Hermione entered her room, that was next to Serena's, and threw herself on the bed. She stare at the sealing of her four poster bed.

_What a day._ She sighed, thinking about her day.

First she finds out Malfoy married Astoria Greengrass, then that he was a widower, she was forced to _hug_ Malfoy by a six year old and for the grand finally, she faced Lucius Malfoy.

The young brunette let a tired sigh as she got up and made her way towards the glass doors that led to the balcony. Hermione closed her eyes and relished the fresh, night air. The soft wind brushed against her ivory skin, making her fell care-free.

As she opened her eyes, Hermione saw a small, dark figure heading her direction. Squinting her eyes she made out the figure to be an owl. The owl stood on the railing and stuck out his small leg. Hermione recognized the small, brown owl and wondered why it was there. She took the parchment and a small, silver box with a red ribbon, that was attached to it as well. After giving the owl a treat Hermione walked back into her room and sat down at the edge of the bed.

Hermione was curious as to what to open first; the letter or the silver box. Deciding that the letter might explain what was in the box, she unfolded the parchment.

_Hermione,_

_Hello my dear. I hope everything is going well. Serena seemed like such an angel -_at this Hermione laughed-._ The reason of this letter is to explain what's in the box. Knowing you, I knew you would choose to read this before exploring the contents in the box._

_Inside the box there are two Nanny Protection bands. One is for you and the other for your charge. You must wear these immediately. Like I've said before _The Perfect Nanny_ is not only the best Nanny agency just because of the name, but because of our extraordinary nannies and _strategies_. These bracelets are the most strategic methods in the agency and have worked above and beyond. _

_The first procedure is for your charge to wear the band. As soon as both the nanny and child have it on, it seals the contract. Meaning that the only way a parent could fire a nanny is if they were to raise their hand or wand upon the child. Once the contract is sealed the bands will create a special bond between the nanny and the child. This bond will activate whenever your charge is in trouble. If your charge was to ever be in any kind of life threatening danger, lost or need help the bracelet will automatically activate and _Apparate _the nanny to them._

_The minute the NP bands are on, no one nor any magic can remove them, unless the contract is broken or reaches its end._

_I've already informed Mr. Malfoy and he has agreed to these new terms. _

_I do hope you and little Serena like the special band design, I, myself chose. I wish you well, Hermione._

_Until next time,_

_Diane Dimplestamp._

Hermione reread the letter again. She wanted to be sure she understood what was needed to be done. She was also somewhat intrigued that Malfoy actually gave in to the terms. He would no longer have the power to fire her. Apparently she _was_ reliable enough to be Serena's nanny.

Hermione's heard of these famous Nanny Protection bands, but she'd never seen one. Acting like a child on Christmas day, Hermione grabbed the box and shook it next to her ear. Then unwrapped it and desperately took the lid off. Hermione gasped. Inside there were two over lapping bracelets. She took both silver bands into her hand and studied them carefully.

Both bracelets were identical. The platinum bands were roughly half an inch wide, designed elegantly with vines and flowers that were made out of diamonds. This must have cost Diane a fortune. She turned the bigger bracelet in the light and spotted a design that differed from the vines. Taking a closer look, she realized that it was her name engraved on it, _Hermione J. Granger. _Hermione examined the smaller band and saw her charge's name, _Serena D. Malfoy._

Excitement surged through Hermione's body as she fit the platinum bracelet around her wrist. Finally, she was taking the first step towards her goals, by finalizing the contract. The only obstacle that made her slightly frown, was Serena's rejection of the band. What if the child didn't like the bracelet? Hermione knew this was going to be a tough one. Maybe it would be best if she snuck into Serena's room, while she was asleep, and put it on her. That way no one could remove it, not even Serena.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She wasn't going to deceive Serena, not when the girl had clung to her like she did earlier that day. Hermione would just have to wait until morning and hope Serena would accept the NP band.

_That should be interesting. _Hermione thought as she placed the small bracelet back into the silver box.

**A/N: Thanks to all of the people that have reviewed The Perfect Nanny. You guys don't know how much this means to me :-D. I'm also sorry for taking this long to update and for not answering to your reviews, but I promise to do it this time. I might answer your reviews a bit late, but nonetheless answer. Thanks for keeping up with me :-).**

**This is the Reviewers' Wall of Fame:**

**xvanniex, manitou2422, Emmiline-Zahara-Rose, randomfan17, KeliLose, lizzmalfoy, blondiexoxo, Megara Spoiler, Plagued Dark Thoughts, Dramione03, ThatAlieGirl, RiniBellMy, MalfoyHeirNulliel, SophieStarMalfoy, Beautiful-Liar13, S-chan-ToNbO-KYAAA, Spunkywave77, 90sgurl, xxbittersweet13xx, mehr03, Pau-0803, Touch the Sky, ReBl, and thanks to all of the anonymous reviewers.**

**A special thanks to xvanniex for taking time to read both stories and giving me back feedback. It really means a lot to me :-D.**

**I'll be posting the Wall of Fame every four chapters. Look out for your name next time ;-D.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, the next one is in the works. Please review and let me know what you guys thought and how Serena might react about wearing the bracelet.**

**Till the next chap.,**

**-Jacquesthevamp**


	5. Sealed Contract

**Important A/N at the end ;-).**

**Chapter V- Sealed Contract**

_She was running and her lungs and legs ached, telling her to stop. But she couldn't, if Hermione stopped _they_ would catch her, torture and do the unthinkable to her. Hermione knew she should have stayed with Ron, but splitting ways seemed like the best idea at the time._

_Hermione turned the corner, of one of the many halls of the deteriorating castle she once called home, and crashed onto someone. As she landed on the ground with a _thud_, her wand flew out of her grasp._

"_Look at what we have here." said a menacing voice, chuckling._

_Hermione looked up, wide eyed. Immediately, she searched for her wand. It couldn't be possible that they've caught her._

"_Looking for this?" He snarled._

_Slowly, Hermione lifted her head and saw the hooded man twirling her wand in his fingers. _No!_ Fear crept up her spine; how would she defend herself now?_

_The man laughed at her expression._

_Hermione clenched her fists, she wasn't going to go down easily, not without a fight. _

_Without any warning, Hermione was on her feet, clawing at the Death Eater's face._

_The man let out a pained yelp and pushed her back down to the ground._

"_You filthy, little Mudblood!" He said, straddling her._

_Hermione thrashed with all her might, to get him off._

"_Get off me!"_

_Above all of the chaos, the sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded off the walls, as the Death Eater's hand connected with Hermione's cheek._

"_Shut the fuck up, Mudblood!"_

_He grabbed Hermione's arms, with one hand, and held them above her head. His free hand trailed down her body as he gave a dirty, lustful glare._

_Hermione wriggled, trying to escape, but this only solicited a moan from the man._

"_I've never done _it_ with a Mudblood." He whispered into her ear._

_Hermione spat on the Death Eater's face and said, "You're a disgusting, low life rat!"_

_That comment gained her another slap in the face._

"_And you're dirty," said the man, licking his lip. "But that doesn't matter."_

"_Get off!" Hermione cried._

_This couldn't be happening to her. Tears poured down her reddened cheeks as she prayed that Harry, Ron or someone would come and rescue her._

"_Don't worry, I'll be gentle." He smirked._

_His hand ran over her breasts and stopped at the waistband of her jeans._

"_No!" she sobbed._

_He undid her button and slid down the zipper._

"_No! Please! No!"_

Hermione woke up, cold sweat running down her forehead and gasping for air. A single tear ran down her cheek. It was the first time in years that she's had that nightmare. She remembers exactly when that happened to her. After Ron and her had had collected Basilisk's fangs, they were being tailed by Death Eaters. They thought it would be better if they parted ways, in order to lose the Death Eaters. Then…then she found herself in the worst situation of her life; wand-less and with a Death Eater, twice her size, on top, groping her.

Hermione shuddered at the memory, still to this day, she hasn't told anyone about that incident. Except for one person and her therapist. Although she stopped seeing her therapist two years after the war, Hermione was still scared of being intimate with a man because of the horrible memories it brought her.

After taking a deep, calming breath, Hermione's awareness was triggered, once again. She had a feeling that she wasn't alone in her room. Suddenly, at the peripheral of her vision, Hermione, saw something move and hide at the foot of her bed. Hermione swiftly drew her wand from under her pillow¾she kept it there for emergencies, like this one¾and quietly crawled to the foot of her bed. Her heart was racing inside her ribcage and her breath quickened. What if it was Lucius, trying to get rid of her? What if he sent someone else to do his dirty job? Hermione was determined to not let anyone or anything catch her unguarded, again. If they wanted a fight, they would get one.

Hermione could hear the intruder shifting, they were probably getting ready to attack her. Without contemplating on the subject any longer, Hermione made her way to the end of her bed, adrenaline running through her veins. She pointed her wand at the intruder, the spell on the tip of her tongue.

"_Stup_-"

Hermione halted the spell, as she stared down at her intruder and scowled.

"What are you doing here?"

The blond looked up at her, with an annoyed expression for having been caught red handed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"Um, nothing."

"It's always something with you." Hermione said, noticing the young pureblood hide something behind their back. "What do you have there, Serena?"

They young girl's eyes darted towards the exit and then back at her nanny.

Hermione followed Serena's eyes and knew, from experience, that the devious child was planning to make a run for it. Thinking quickly, Hermione cast a locking spell on the door. She got off her bed and went to stand in front of Serena and held her arm out.

"Give it, here." said Hermione sternly.

Serena's eyebrows furrowed together, in a frown. She brought a small, silver box in front of her and held it tightly between her small hands.

"But it has my name on it." She murmured.

At once, Hermione recognized the squared object in her charge's hands. It was the box that held Serena's NP bracelet. Hermione had thought that it'd be hard to get Serena to wear the band but apparently the child already took a liking to it.

"You…you like it?" asked Hermione doubtfully.

Serena nodded her head 'yes', a sad expression covering her features. She really like the bracelet.

At first, she had gone to nanny Granger's room with the intention to startle her awake, when something shiny caught her eyes. It was a silver box in the nanny's night stand, gleaming in the sunlight that peaked through the green drapes and she just had to have it.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," said Hermione, with an exaggerated, disappointed sigh. "but since you already saw it, you can have it."

"Really?" said Serena, her features brightening.

"Yep. Here, let me help you put it on." offered Hermione, taking the box from Serena's hands.

Serena jumped in glee and held her wrist out. Nanny Granger was proving to be a good nanny. Most importantly, she loved surprises and sparkly things. And this was definitely a surprise and the bracelet _was_ sparkly!

"Wow." Serena said, holding her hand up and turning it side to side.

The diamonds were shiny, but what she liked the best, was her name that was engraved on it.

"You like it?" asked Hermione, already knowing the answer by Serena's awed expression.

"Do I?" said Serena smiling at Hermione, "I love it!"

Hermione returned the smile. It was the first time Serena sincerely smiled at her and it filled her with a sense of accomplishment. Maybe they'll finally get along.

**oOo**

A week gradually passed since the day the contract was officially sealed. Hermione had hoped that her relationship with Serena would improve, but had terribly misjudged the young girl.

The fair-haired child had been happy for receiving a beautiful bracelet, but had not forgotten that Hermione was still the nanny and according to Serena; nannies were no good.

The following days after, Serena had resumed her rascal behavior. As promised, she didn't prank Hermione, but there were plenty more ways to 'torture' her.

At the end, what surprised Hermione, was when Malfoy thought she wasn't looking he would scold his daughter and make her apologize to Hermione for being disrespectful. Hermione was honestly stunned that Malfoy actually educated Serena to be a civil and respectful person. Things about Malfoy had changed and now Hermione knew that it was because of Serena.

The only thing that didn't change was Mr. Malfoy's attitude. He would always take advantage of any chance he got to humiliate Hermione in front of Serena, but he only did it when his son or wife weren't present. Hermione didn't let him get to her and discovered that he got angrier when she ignored him. She used that to her advantage. Mr. Malfoy proved his dislike and mistrust of Hermione by cancelling his vacation in France. According to him, muggle-borns couldn't be trusted with pureblood children.

Narcissa was a different story, she was…nice. Of course, she didn't show it directly, but there was no hostility directed to Hermione, from her. Mrs. Malfoy would always try to stop her husband from insulting Hermione and also tried to help her gain Serena's trust. This was all too strange. The eldest Malfoy witch was definitely up to something.

Hermione was getting used to the idea of having to live at the manor, with the Malfoys, thus trying to memorize the halls and rooms. She still got lost, but managed to learn the routes to her room, different parlors, and the gardens¾ which she was growing to appreciate.

It was a warm, breezy Friday, which meant dinner at the Weasleys'. Friday dinner at the Burrow had naturally grown to become a tradition. Hermione had never missed one of the dinners in nine years, until last week. She had missed dinner at the Burrow because she was at Malfoy manor, being introduced to her charge.

Hermione missed everyone at the Burrow, they had grown to be her family, but she didn't know how they would take the news of her living at Malfoy manor.

"What dress would look nice on Piglet?" asked Serena, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts.

Piglet, Serena's favorite elf, stood in a stool in front of a full length mirror, while the blond child held up two dresses. One yellow and the other pink.

They were currently in Serena's room, which was decorated in soft colors of pink, yellow and white. Hermione sat on a white rocking chair, next to the window, observing Piglet, as it shyly twirled in front of the full length mirror.

At the beginning, Hermione had thought that the Malfoys still mistreated their elves, but was once again wrong. Malfoy had¾not very kindly¾explained that his mother had given clothes to all the elves, after the war, but none of them left. _'Why would they, if they had shelter, food and a job, all in one.' _Was Malfoy's answer. Hermione didn't press that matter further, for now.

"Pink or yellow?" Serena asked, again.

"Yellow." Hermione suggested.

Serena scrunched her nose at the yellow dress and said, "Pink is better," and threw the yellow garment into her dress trunk.

Hermione knew she was going to do that, it wasn't the first time. Serena would always ask for Hermione's opinion and then choose the opposite.

Hermione sighed, would it be okay to visit her friends?

_Of course it is! It's not as if Malfoy owns you._ Her conscience told her. It was true, now that the contract was sealed, Hermione could go where she wanted, just as long as Serena was safe and the Burrow was one of the safest places on earth.

Making her mind up, Hermione stood up and said, "Serena would you like to go on a small trip?"

Serena looked thoughtful for a minute, shrugged and then answered, "Okay."

Hermione hoped her friends would understand.

**oOo**

"Are we there yet?" asked Serena as she held on to nanny Granger.

Hermione could tell that Serena wasn't used to Apparating.

After she had helped Serena put her toys away, Hermione had explained that she wanted to visit her friends. To Hermione's surprise, Serena had agreed to go, without questioning their destination. That unnerved her a bit, but she let it go. She could feel her stomach do somersaults from the anxiety she was feeling. Hermione hoped that Serena would behave so everyone would grow to like her and that way when they found out that she was a Malfoy, then it wouldn't matter so much. Who was she kidding? Of course, that would matter and a great deal at that.

Hermione was now standing in front of her second home, the Burrow, with Serena in her arms. After spending a week at Malfoy manor, Hermione felt warm and invited.

"Yes, welcome to the Burrow, Serena." Hermione said, setting Serena down.

Serena blinked once, then twice and a third. Where were they? Were they really going to go inside that hideous building, house or whatever it was?

"What is that?" said Serena pointing at the Burrow.

"It's not polite to point." Hermione said, "This is the Burrow, my friends live here."

Serena raised an eyebrow and looked back at the house with distaste.

"If you say so." Serena said, indifferently.

As Serena observed the _Burrow_, it looked as if it would tip over any minute. How can anyone lived there? The manor was definitely better than _this_.

Serena expected her time here would be worth her while. When nanny Granger had asked if she wanted to come, her immediate answer was no, but then she thought better of it. Serena was growing bored that she couldn't prank the nanny anymore and she couldn't¾and wouldn't¾prank her Daddy or grandparents because they'll put her in time-out. Serena hated time-out. So then this opportunity came up. If she couldn't prank nanny Granger then her friends will suffice.

"You ready?" asked Hermione, extending her hand for Serena to hold.

The blond girl nodded her head, but did not meet her nanny's hand with hers.

Hermione accepted the child's rejection benevolently. It was okay that Serena didn't like her, yet. Hermione knew that she would win her over in time, but what worried her now was Serena's calmness. The child was too calm for comfort. Hermione could sense that she was up to something.

Hermione was about to knock on the door, when it suddenly opened, causing Serena to jump and unconsciously take hold of Hermione's hand.

A very pregnant Ginny caught Hermione in a crushing hug.

"Oh, Hermione, we were so worried."

"Why? What's wrong, Ginny?" asked Hermione worried.

"_What's wrong?_" Ginny repeated, "You haven't answered our owls or Floo calls. Harry, Ron and I went to your flat and your neighbor informed us that you _moved_."

Then it hit her, Hermione had forgotten to tell her friends about her new 'home.'

Ginny was scowling at Hermione, her arms crossed on top of her protruding belly. Ginny was roughly seven months pregnant.

Hermione smiled, she was happy to see that she was missed.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" asked Ginny sounding very much like her mother.

"I'll explain if you'd invite us in." grinned Hermione.

For the first time, Ginny noticed the curly blond girl that held on to Hermione.

"Of course, come in." said Ginny, confused of why there was child with her best friend and why did she look familiar?

As Hermione entered the living room, she was greeted by all of the Weasley clan. Appearing with style, Fred and George Apparated on each side of Hermione.

"Hello Hermione." greeted George.

"Been hiding from us, eh?" smiled Fred.

"Don't blame you¾"

"¾we'd do the same." both said, in unison.

"Hello Fred and George." Hermione beamed.

"Who's this pretty little lady?" asked Fred, crouching in front of Serena.

Serena took a step back and squeezed nanny Granger's hand. She was a tad overwhelmed by all of the people there. They were so cheery and loud. She was used to being around serious and quiet people, but she could get used to this.

Regaining her confidence she said, "I'm Serena Mal-"

"She's my new charge." Hermione said, interrupting Serena.

Hermione wasn't ready for them to know who Serena's parent was. Hopefully Harry and Ron would appear so she could get this over with.

"Congratulations, Hermione." said Ginny, rushing over to Hermione and hugging her. "Your first charge."

"Thanks, Ginny."

Everyone else congratulated her, as well -Mrs. Weasley promising to bake her a cake and rushing into the kitchen. They all knew Hermione wanted to be a children's healer.

"Is that the reason you moved?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, I'm going to live with the family for a year, so I couldn't really keep my flat."

"But you're still allowed to visit us, right?" Ginny said, worried.

"Yeah," Hermione smiled, "as long as Serena is safe then I'm still free to do as I please."

Ginny sighed in relief and smiled.

"This is so great Hermione…what's that on your wrist?" Ginny said, pointing at Hermione's band.

Hermione went to sit on the couch, next to Ginny, pulling Serena along with her.

"This is the Nanny Protection band it…" Hermione explained the process of the NP bands to Ginny.

While they talked, Hermione noticed Serena walk towards James, who was sitting on the floor, in front of the fireplace. He was polishing his _Rocket 100_¾a children's' broom Harry had given him for his birthday.

Hermione relished the time she spent at the Burrow, it was a great contrast from the manor. She had barely finished explaining Ginny the terms on which she will be living at the manor, although she hadn't said anything about who were Serena's parents-

"Nanny Granger!" Serena said, in delight, " I'm flying!"

Hermione turned her attention towards her charge. Serena was mounted on the _Rocket 100_ and clearly enjoying it. That girl was just too much like her father; she had Malfoy's smile and looks, smirks just like him, likes to taunt Hermione, apparently likes flying and-

"Please tell me that wasn't her, Harry!" Came the shrilling voice of Ron, from the kitchen.

Harry's head popped form the threshold, that connected the kitchen and the living room. He was scanning the room viciously and then stopped on Serena , who had gotten off the broom.

"It's definitely her!" said Harry, his brows furrowed together in…fear.

There were struggling sounds of resistance emitting from the kitchen and out came Mrs. Weasley hauling Ron, from his sleeve.

"Ronald Weasley, come out and greet out guests." huffed Mrs. Weasley, then let go off him.

"What is _he_ doing here?

"What is _she_ doing here?

Serena and Ron pointed at each other in unison, both being reprimanded by Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, "Don't point, it's rude!"

Hermione was utterly confused. Ron, Harry and Serena knew each other? How?

"You guys know each other?" Ginny voiced Hermione's questions.

"How can we not," Ron said, taking a step back as Serena took one forward. "She's Serena _Malfoy, _as in Draco Malfoy's kid_."_

The room, instantly, became silent.

* * *

**A/N: Here's chapt. five, how did you guys like it? How are the Weasley's going to react, hmm? I love hearing your guy's thoughts :).**

**So, things are developing slowly and I know there hasn't been much of Draco&Hermione time, but just you wait. In the next chapter they will be getting closer.**

**I also apologize for some of the grammar and punctuation mistakes. Life if so hectic right now that I really don't have time to get a beta, but it is in my future plans. I try my best and I hope it's good enough :).**

**One more thing, I will be leaving on a week-in-a-half road trip tomorrow, so this will be the last update until I come back. The next chapter is in the works already so it won't take me long to update after I get back. **

**Thanks to all who are reading _The Perfect Nanny_ and adding it to their favorites and alerts. Most importantly, thanks to all who are reviewing and keeping up with me, I greatly appreciate it. Please review and let me know what you think is going to happen :-D.**

**Till next time x.**

**_-Jacquesthevamp_**


	6. Betrayal

**Here's the next chappy!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter VI- Betrayal**

Silence.

Mute silence spread throughout the Weasley household like an epidemic. Hermione decided to not say anything and let them process this bit of information calmly, but Serena had other thoughts in mind.

"Yes, I'm Serena Malfoy," Serena said, holding her chin up, proudly. "and Draco Malfoy is my Daddy."

Silence reigned once again after her boast.

"Is that true, Hermione?" Ginny spoke up.

"Um…well…yes." said Hermione, slumping her shoulders in defeat. They were bound to find out, sooner or later, but how did Harry and Ron know!

"Wait," Ginny said, standing up from the couch. "you mean to tell us that you're living with _Malfoy_ and taking care of _his_ child."

After that statement Harry and Ron let out a lot of comments and questions.

"What?"

"When did this happen?"

"It's Malfoy!"

"How can you like him after everything he did-"

"Serena is not your daughter is she?"

"No!" Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or get mad at the last two statements, they were ridiculous. "I was placed at Malfoy Manor as Serena's nanny."

Harry immediately called down, while Ron grabbed his head in between his hands and said, "What! You're taking care of that little…little-" Ron got closer to Hermione and whispered in her ear, "She's evil, Hermione. Evil I tell yah."

"Oh Ron, she's a nice little girl." Hermione said, patting his shoulder. He didn't need to tell her that, she already knew what Serena was capable of, but he didn't have to.

"But she's still Malfoy's child." Ginny said.

"I know that." Hermione said, noticing Ginny's face redden.

"Why him?"

"It's not like if I wanted to. It's my job." said Hermione, defensively.

"This is good." Ginny took a deep breath, "Just quit there and you can be James' nanny."

"What! You know the contract has been sealed. I can't do anything about it."

"Yes, you can. You said that you can break the contract if you paid five thousand Galleons."

"I don't have that amount of Galleons, Ginny."

"Harry and I will help pay it for you. Right Harry?" Ginny gave Harry a meaningful stare.

"Yeah, Hermione. If you're not okay with staying there, we'll help you out."

Hermione thought about her friends' offer. It sounded like a very compelling idea; not having to deal with Malfoy senior and junior. If she took care of James it would be easy, too easy. Then there was Serena. It wasn't her fault that she was the daughter of the person who tried making their lives miserable at Hogwarts. Hermione knew that Serena was slowly trusting her and earning that bit was really hard to gain. Hermione wasn't about to give that up now. She never has.

"Thanks for trying to help, but I'm staying as Serena's nanny."

"Hermione, its Malfoy's kid we're talking about." Ron spoke out. "Your really want to live with them?"

Hermione looked at Serena, who had a confused expression on her face, and knew what she was going to do.

"Yes." She said, taking a deep breath.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, Hermione." said Ron, his ears turning red as beets as he stormed out.

"Ron-"

"No, Hermione. He's right," Ginny said. "You're going to stay there and what if he tortures you like Bel-"

"Stop." gasped Hermione, she didn't want to relive that night.

"What if Lucius Malfoy does something. He's always hated you." said Ginny, trying to get her point across.

"Ginny-" Hermione tried.

"What if Malfoy's using his daughter to lure you into a trap?"

"I doubt-"

"Hermione, she's Malfoy's daughter. The daughter of a evil git. I bet she's as evil as he is-"

"Stop Ginny!" Hermione was losing her patience. "Just stop."

"My Daddy isn't an evil git." Serena said, grudgingly. Her small hands were set in fists and wore a scowl that reminded Hermione of Lucius.

"Of course not." Hermione said, with a gentle smile. She went to stand next to Serena and waved her wand, casting a silencing spell, so she wouldn't hear their argument.

"You're lying to her!" said Ginny, giving Hermione a look of disbelief and betray.

That was the last thing Hermione wanted, she didn't want her friends…family, to think that she was betraying them. It was something that would never happen, but the way Ginny was glaring at her made Hermione feel as if she was.

"Really?" said Ginny crossing her arms over her swollen belly. "Then tell me Malfoy isn't evil and all of those loathsome things he did were just fun little games?"

The sarcasm in Gunny's voice pierced through Hermione, but it was also frustrating that she hadn't gotten a chance to explain herself. She was at Malfoy Manor because it was her job, not from free will. If she decided to quit on them then it would look horrible on her records, thus affecting her chances to go to Healing is a Purpose Academy.

Hermione wanted it so much, she wasn't going to be a fool and let everything go to waste just because of a stupid rivalry.

"No." Hermione said, gritting her teeth. "I know he's an evil git, but it isn't Serena's fault and I'm not going to allow anyone to hurt her."

Hermione grabbed Serena's hand a lifted the silencing spell as she guided them to the exit.

"She'll be my charge for a year. I'd be more that happy to come visit, but if Malfoy's faults are going to be put into the light in front of Serena, then don't expect me here. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"I can't believe you!" Ginny said, her face turning redder from anger, "You're choosing _him_ over us!"

"Calm down, Gin." Harry suggested, but was completely ignored.

"I'm not! I don't even like him Ginny. It's not like if I'm marrying the git."

"Fine then, leave!" Ginny said, and stalked upstairs towards her room, "I don't care!" she yelled, leaving the living room in silence.

Hermione hung her head, trying to suppress tears. She had hoped they would all understand and not think she was betraying them, but judging by their silence, her hope had been in vain.

Hermione felt a small hand squeeze hers. She looked down and saw it was Serena, who was frowning at everyone present. She was probably mad that they were insulting Malfoy.

"Let's go home." Serena said, looking up at Hermione. "They are not very nice people."

Hermione nodded as a tear ran down her cheek. Serena was actually being nice to her. This gave Hermione a bit of strength and without looking back she exited the burrow, while Serena looked back at Harry and stuck her tongue out at him and everyone else. When they walked to Apparation point Hermione remembered something.

"Serena, where's your purse?" she asked, not quite sure if the child had brought one.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you have a purse with you when we arrived?"

"Of course not, Nanny Granger. You're imagining things." the small girl giggle.

"Maybe I am." answered Hermione, feeling terribly exhausted.

Serena smiled in satisfaction. She managed to fool her nanny and leave a nice little present behind.

**oOo**

Everyone was left speechless. Over the years only Harry and Ron have had contact with Malfoy, but that was only because they were forced by their job.

Ron returned, to join everyone, a bit cooled off.

"Where's Hermione?"

"She left." Harry said, solemnly.

There was another silence, but not for long.

"Hey," said James, walking towards a small, squared object in the middle of the room. "Doesn't that belong to the little girl?"James proceeded towards Serena's purse and was about to grab it when Ron yelled, "No!", but it was too late for there was green goop splattered on everything and everyone.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen." Ron said, slumping down to the floor with a squishy sound.

**oOo**

"You're late." drawled a voice near the fireplace.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh, she was still a tad put off from the argument she had with Ginny. Hermione still couldn't believe the way Ginny reacted and behaved in front of Serena. Hermione accepted that she did lie by saying that Malfoy wasn't an evil git, but that was for Serena's sake. The girl was too young to fully understand the choices her father made and the side he took during the war.

Hermione set Serena down after Apparating. She had decided to take Serena out to eat instead. She wondered if Malfoy minded, but by the tone of his voice, he did.

"Evidently." she muttered. He didn't need to point out the obvious.

"Daddy!" Serena squealed. She ran and threw herself into her dad's arms. "You wouldn't guess where we went today."

Malfoy gave Hermione a glare as if warning her.

"Where did you go today, Darling?" he smiled at his daughter.

"We went to the borrow."

"The _borrow_?" asked Malfoy, setting Serena down. He turned towards Hermione, waiting for her to explain.

"It's the Burrow, the Weasley's home." Hermione said, tiredly.

Malfoy's face was unreadable that Hermione couldn't tell if he was mad, but what made her skin crawl was the way he was staring at her. He hadn't even blinked. His eyes were a dark grey, but were shining with maybe, anger or something else Hermione couldn't comprehend.

"It was ugly, Daddy." Serena said, breaking the horrible silence.

"I'm sure it was." Malfoy answered, forcing a smile and taking his eyes away from Hermione. "I got you a surprise, it's in your room."

"For me?" asked Serena, surprised.

"Yes, for you." he said, patting her blonde curls. "Go see what it is. I'll be up in a little while."

Serena didn't need to be told twice and ran to her room.

Malfoy watched Serena leave and then turned his attention to Hermione.

"The Weasley's home." He repeated Hermione's last statement. "Why the hell was she there! She could have been hurt!"

"They would never harm her or anyone for that matter." Hermione defended.

"I don't mean physically, Granger."

Hermione gulped, Ginny could have said things that would have hurt Serena, "I wouldn't let them cause any harm to her."

"Right." Malfoy gave a menacing laugh. "You, of all people, would defend _my_ daughter against _your_ friends."

"I would and I did!"

"You did?"

"Yes."

"You mean to tell me that Serena was in danger of hearing things that she shouldn't know of, yet?" Malfoy yelled, his eyes full of hatred.

"Well…yeah, but it wasn't intentionally." said Hermione, wishing she wasn't alone with him at the moment.

Draco's fists were shaking with the utmost fury. He took several steps forward until he was face to face with Granger. Who did she think she was to take his daughter to the _Burrow_?

"How. Dare. You."

"I-" Hermione said, taking some steps back to put some distance between them, but Malfoy just kept closing the gap. Hermione was about to take a step back when her back hit the wall behind her.

"How dare you expose my daughter to that! Do you know how this could have affected her?" Malfoy hollered, as he placed both his hands on either side of Hermione's head, trapping her there.

Hermione's heart went on a speeding rampage. He was too close, too angry. Worst of all, he was right. Ginny could have said things that would have scarred Serena for life. The child thinks so highly of her father, that knowing he was a Death Eater would shatter it all. What had Hermione done? She could have broken the young girl's heart, but she didn't mean to.

"I didn't-" said Hermione, tears were threatening to spill. Not because she was scared of Malfoy, but because of what could have happened.

"It doesn't matter." Malfoy said, staring at her coldly. He lowered his face to her ear and whispered in a ominous tone, "Listen, Granger and listen good. If they hurt Serena I will go after them, every single one of them."

The proximity between them was suddenly too much for Hermione, she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Get off me, please." she whimpered.

Draco froze, he's heard that plea before, even the tone was the exact. He took a deep breath as he remembered the images of that night, nine years ago. Oh, how he would like to forget them. He backed away and avoided Granger's eyes, not wanting to see the face he saw that horrible night.

Hermione felt Malfoy's body move away and felt as if she could breath again. Without a word, she left to her room. Today had been too much, she just needed some peach and quiet.

**oOo**

Hermione laid in her bed in a chilly night.

Two weeks passed since that atrocious day. Malfoy hadn't spoken to Hermione since that night, it was as if he was trying to avoid looking at her straight in the eyes. Hermione knew that he remembered that night, when both wouldn't be the same again.

Mr. Malfoy was worse than before, if that was even possible. He actually brought Diane Dimplestamp, Hermione's supervisor, to the Manor with the excuse of exchanging nannies. Diane, of course, reprimanded him and defended Hermione by stating that she was the best nanny of Wizarding London. Mr. Malfoy since then has kept his distance, but always complains about having a muggleborn nanny.

Narcissa, was almost like a professor. She would educate Hermione about pureblood etiquette and sometimes tell her about the way of living of her ancestors. It was intriguing for Hermione, learning a new side of pureblood superiority. She learned that not all of them were Voldemort supporters. Hermione knew that before, but hearing it from a pureblood made it more believable.

After two long weeks of hard work, Serena was still…Serena. Hermione was happy that she had gained yet a little more trust from the six year old, but Serena was still a handful and when she didn't get her way she became a spoiled brat. Hermione was still glad with the process she had made with Serena, things finally seemed to be getting better and better.

None of that got to Hermione; not even Lucius' bad mood. What got to Hermione was that her relationship with her friends seemed to be deteriorating with each day. Mrs. Weasley had written to her two days after, apologizing for their behavior and that she was still welcomed to the Burrow. Harry had written as well and apologized for Ginny's behavior. He also offered Hermione his support. The only ones she hadn't heard from were Ginny and Ron and it pained her because that meant that they were mad and probably resented her.

Hermione turned and looked at her magically lit, neon clock on her bedside table. It was three in the morning and yet, she hadn't been able to sleep. With an irritated sigh, Hermione pulled her covers off and stood up. It was probably all of the stress that wouldn't let her sleep, so she decided to go to the kitchens to get a warm glass of milk. That always did the trick when she was younger.

Hermione quietly closed her bedroom door behind her. She was about to head towards the stairs, when out of curiosity, she chose to check on Serena. Serena's room was located in the middle of Malfoy's and Hermione's room, so it wasn't much of a hassle to check on her. Hermione slowly opened the door and peered inside. The small child laid in the middle of the bed, that was too big for her small frame, clutching a sparkly, green stuffed animal shaped as a snake. Hermione smiled, the child looked so peaceful and angelic.

"_BANG!"_

Hermione jumped at the loud noise, causing her heart to speed up. She looked back at Serena to see if she had woken up, but the child just stirred in her sleep.

"_Bang!_"

The noise was quieter than the last.

Thinking fast, Hermione cast a locking and silencing spell on Serena's door, so she wouldn't be startled. Hermione held her wand out and whispered, "_Lumos."_

The hall was the same; there were no signs of damages or forced entry-

"_Bang_!"

The sound was less noisy, but it was getting closer.

There was silence for a bit, until the sound of a body being dragged across the floor reached Hermione's ears. Her heart was beating like crazy and she could hear it's drumming in her ears.

"_Nox." _whispered Hermione. She thought it was better to go unnoticed by whatever was out there.

The dragging sound kept on getting closer and closer. Hermione pondered on going to inform Malfoy, who's room was several feet away, or finding out herself. Hermione took a deep breath and decided to go at it alone. She didn't need Malfoy.

Right then the dragging sound stopped. Hermione's breath hitched in her throat, it had stopped directly in front of her. The thick darkness in the hall avoided her from seeing what it was.

Hermione gulped, should she move, run and scream for help?

Then it hit her. What if this was a trap? What if Ginny had been right? What if this was an elaborate plan to get rid of her? Lucius must of have been in on this and of course his son too.

Hermione shook her and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to allow to be taken down that easily. Hermione lifted her wand, ready for whatever came her way, when suddenly, what felt like a hand took hold of her ankle. She froze. They had her.

"Gran…ger." came a hoarse voice from below.

* * *

**Hey, everyone! I'm back :-D. **

**Okay first of all, I wanted to inform that during this trip I had no access to a computer and my phone was acting up big time, so my lovely friend MalfoyHeirNulliel helped me with some of my reviews. I was feeling guilty that I hadn't been responding because of my lack of computer, but then my friend offered to help me and I agreed. So don't freak out if you get a PM from MalfoyHeirNulliel.**

**So there was supposed to be a different chapter up today, but I thought this should be put out first because it leads to the next one. I also didn't like other chapter I wrote, so I'm re-writing it.**

**Thanks for all of your patience, it is greatly appreciated. ****I also wanted to thank all of you for your supporting words and nice wishes, they totally made my bad days into good days :-D.**

**_**randomfan17_: Thanks for the encouraging words, you don't know how much it helps.**

**I love to hear your guys' guesses. Seriously some of you are right on the dot, it's like if you're reading my mind lol. So, are Ginny and Ron going to forgive Hermione? And, what's going to happen to poor Hermione? Please review and let me know what you thought :-D.**

**For more information on when I'm updating, you guys can follow me on Twitter. My username is the same as here Jacquesthevamp and there's also a link posted on my profile page. **

**Until next time x,**

**_-Jacquesthevamp_**


	7. Nine Years Ago

**I am terribly sorry for the long wait. I'll explain at the end of the chapter. This one is a bit...gruesome? Not for me, but for some it may be, but I hope not. Well, here we go...**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter VII- Nine Years Ago**

It was as if an alarm went off in Hermione's head; warning her about danger. She pointed her wand downwards -although she couldn't see who the offending object was.

_"Stup-"_

"Fuck, Granger. It's me." came the voice of Malfoy, although it sounded raspy.

At the recognition of his coice a wave of relief washed over Hermione. For the second time in her life, she was glad it was Malfoy. Malfoy's hold on Hermione's ankle loosened, but he still held on.

"What do you want?" Hermione said, bothered that he scared her. "What are you doing on the ground? And why are you touching me?"

"Won't you shut the hell up and help me stand." his voice was strained.

"You're a grown man, you can do it on your own."

"Fuck…" said Malfoy, gasping for air, "…Granger."

Automatically, Hermione knew that there was something wrong with Malfoy. His breathing came too labored and he would never ask Hermione for help.

"Fine." Hermione whispered, "_Lumos_."

Hermione could finally see, but as she looked down she wished she couldn't. She gasped at the horrible image in front of her. Malfoy was covered in dirt, grass and…blood. His once platinum hair was tainted by blood that oozed from a gash on the left side of his forehead, there was a smaller cut on his right eyebrow that dripped crimson liquid and had a busted lip. She followed his outstretched arm that was holding on to her ankle and noticed that his hand had several lacerations on it as well.

Hermione knelt beside him, after he let go and asked, "What…happened?" she wasn't sure of how to help him stand without hurting him.

Malfoy didn't answer, just his ragged breath could be heard in one of the many halls of Malfoy Manor.

"Malfoy?"

No response.

"Malfoy?"

Silence.

"Malfoy!" shrieked Hermione, she was beginning to freak out. "Wake up!" she poked his head.

"Don't…do that." Malfoy hissed, clearly in pain.

"You don't do that!" Hermione glared.

"Scared you, huh?" Malfoy said, trying to laugh, but instead groaned.

"No." Hermione said, a little to fast. "Just don't do that."

"Whatever." answered Malfoy, making efforts to sit up, but failed. "Are you going to help." it wasn't a question.

_Even when he's close to death he still manages to be an arrogant bastard._ Hermione thought as she stood up and held her hand out. Malfoy took it, reluctantly. At last, when he was on his feet he wobbled and started falling. Acting fast, Hermione caught him, wrapping her arms around his waist trying to hoist him up. This reminded her of their 'hug' and Hermione was about to let go when Malfoy gave a sharp hiss of pain and held on to her, wrapping his arms around her, too.

"Can you be more careful." he scolded.

"You're heavy…" Hermione panted, struggling to guide him to his room.

"You're weak." Malfoy countered.

Hermione didn't respond, it was just a never-ending cycle of insults.

A few minutes of foul language and groans of pain from Malfoy they had finally reached his room. Hermione, gently, set him on the bed -facing up- and turned the lights on with a wave of her wand. If she was surprised of the way she saw Malfoy in the hall, this was nothing compared to it. Malfoy had three deep gashes across his torso that were furiously bleeding. Hermione was about to question him when she felt, a somewhat, sticky substance on her night shirt. It was blood, Malfoy's blood. Hermione felt sick, her whole front was covered in it. She took hold of one of the posts of the four poster bed, trying to keep the room from spinning.

"Your can leave, now." Malfoy said, noticing her silence and closed his eyes.

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "No, I'm okay." then muttered a cleaning spell and felt better, now that she wasn't covered in Malfoy's blood.

"I don't care, I said leave, Granger."

Was he being serious? Here he was, on his death bed and he wanted her to leave. Malfoy obviously didn't know Hermione well enough to know that she wasn't about leave him while he was bleeding to death. Plus, if Lucius found his son in this state then he'll blame it on her, even if wasn't her that did it.

"Look, Malfoy, you wanted my help so now you're stuck with me."

"I only needed help to get here. Now leave." Malfoy said. He forced himself to sit up, grunting in pain, and fell right back.

"Just stay still, will yah." Hermione exclaimed. It wouldn't do good if he hurt himself worse.

Malfoy gave up, apparently under to much pain to protest. He just stared at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. Hermione thought of the spells that would be the best to properly heal his wounds and stop the bleeding, but those were just going to cause him pain. She needed him asleep that way she wouldn't hear his arrogant remarks and so he wouldn't hurt anymore.

"I'll be right back." Hermione said, coming up with an idea and running out of his room.

**oOo**

Draco heard Granger say something and saw her run out of the room. He knew she was going to leave. She was probably casting some more cleansing spells on herself. Draco hissed as another pang of excruciating pain ran through his chest. He looked down and saw what Granger had seen. He had three slashes across his chest. Draco hadn't noticed those before. He knew he had gotten hit, but at that time the adrenaline in his body prohibited him from feeling the pain. He slowly lifted, hoisting himself on his elbows. Draco growled at the pain and heard the door quickly open and close.

"I told you to stay down, Malfoy." it was Granger.

"And I told you to leave." Why did she come back? Granger probably enjoyed seeing him in pain and so...vulnerable. Well, he wasn't about to allow that for he was Draco Malfoy, for Merlin sake! With the final strength his body possessed, Draco sat up and tried to take the bloody robes off. His arms felt so heavy, like if they were made out lead and the room was beginning to spin.

"Here, let me help you." Granger said walking over to him. She first took the gear off and then pulled his under shirt over his head. "Malfoy!" she gasped.

"I know...I work out." he said, trying to sound as normal as he could.

Granger's cheeks reddened and said, "I'm not complimenting your body you idiot. How...what...why?"

"Leave the questions for later, Granger."

"Right." Granger said and got up retrieving a flask from the bedside table. "Here, drink this."

Draco looked at her like if she was crazy. Did she really think that he was stupid enough to drink something that came from her.

"It isn't poison, if that's what you think it is." she said as if she could read his mind. "It's a sleeping potion, so you won't feel pain while I heal you."

"I don't want to be asleep while you heal me. Are you mad woman!" Draco said. If she thought that she was going to get him to drink that, she was greatly mistaken.

"Fine by me." Granger set the flask down. " Now, lay down." she gently pushed him down and pointed her wand at him.

Draco gulped. For some reason Granger's wand looked menacing and dangerous. He looked up and saw three of her instead of one. Draco shook his head, he was losing blood and a lot by the way his vision was starting to falter. Granger opened her mouth to say an incantation, but Draco interrupted.

"Wait, give me that damn potion." Draco didn't want to feel more pain, he was just tired.

He took the sleeping potion from her and drank it in one gulp. Draco knew that Granger wouldn't poison him. She was too much of a goody-too-shoes, or at least he hoped. A minute later, his eyelids were starting to feel heavy and he could hardly keep them open. The last thing he saw was Granger looking at him with her brown eyes. He gave into the darkness as he remembered the woman he lost three years ago.

**oOo**

Finally, Malfoy had given up and drank the potion. Quickly, Hermione was set, saying incantations that would heal the wizard before her. She still wondered who could have done this to him. Hermione looked over at the robes she had removed from Malfoy. It was no ordinary robes, she'd seen one before, but where? Hermione paused and picked them up. She knew it, the robes had the Auror's emblem. So Malfoy was an Auror, eh? How come Harry nor Ron told her this before? She would have to have a word with them. Well, just Harry since Ron wasn't talking to her still.

Malfoy made a grumbling noise and Hermione directed her attention back to him. Why would they leave Malfoy to fend for himself? Then a terrifying thought crossed Hermione's mind. What if Harry or Ron were injured, too? Were they okay? Hermione shook her head. Of course they were, if not she would for sure get a notice, right?

"Astoria." Malfoy barely whispered, bringing her out of her reverie.

_He's remembering her._ Hermione thought without helping to feel bad for him. It must of have been horrible for him to lose someone that important. She could tell that he loved Astoria very much by the way he looked at her in the portrait.

"Ast...oria." Malfoy said, through gritted teeth.

Hermione knew that he must be feeling pain from the blood and skin replenishing spells.

"Shh, it's going to be okay." Hermione said, hoping that would comfort him even if he couldn't hear her.

"I miss...you."

For an odd and inexplicable reason, tears began to swell in Hermione's eyes.

After hours of doing her best at healing Malfoy, Hermione was finally done. The injuries on his head healed quickly while the ones on his chest were still healing. Hermione debated for sometime on whether to leave or to stay. Malfoy looked so peaceful, now that he was cleaned up and wasn't talking. He kind of looked like an angel. _No Hermione_. She scolded herself. _Malfoy is no angel. In fact he's more like the devil's spawn_. Who was she kidding, he did resemble an angel when asleep. His chest rose up and down in a normal way now, without being so labored. Malfoy wasn't saying Astoria's name either, instead his face started to contort into a frown. Hermione pulled a chair next to his bed and sat down, finally deciding to stay. He looked so vulnerable in this state that Hermione felt if she left him the wounds would open again.

Hermione's eyes started to droop, her last thought being of what Malfoy was dreaming that caused his lips to purse and his frown to deepen.

**oOo**

_He couldn't do this. The Dark Lord was just asking too much of him. Didn't that bastard understand, Draco didn't want to be a murderer. He didn't want to be like _them_. Like his father, Snape and all of those idiots that called themselves Death Eaters. He failed his first task, to kill Dumbledore, but he didn't care. In fact, he was now glad that he didn't accomplish that task, he wasn't a murderer. He wasn't like the Dark Lord. His poor friend, Crabbe, had died for a cause that didn't benefit him in any way. What? Pureblood supremacy under the control of a half blood? That was the most hypocritical thing Draco has ever heard. _

_Draco ran and hid behind a wall, he's been running for what seemed like hours. He really wanted out, but with all the random curses flying through the air, he felt trapped as if they were all aiming at him for being a traitor. Draco looked both ways and ran again. He had to find his family and escape with them. An image of his worried mother flashed through his head. How he wished he was wrapped in her embrace at this moment. Sure, it sounded childish, but it was better than dodging _Crucio's _and _Avada Kedrava's_. He just hoped his father would be protecting her. Of course he would. Although Lucius Malfoy showed himself as a cold and intimidating person he was always different when he was around Draco's mother. That thought comforted him a bit. _

_Draco turned a corner, smelling fresh air which meant the exit wasn't that far away. That's when he heard it. A plea of help that managed to reach his ears over all of the chaos around him. The voice was familiar, too familiar that his body stopped on it's tracks. He heard it again. Draco definitely knew who it was. It was a girl, a girl he enjoyed torturing for six years, a girl that made his blood boil, a girl named Granger. Her pleas of help resounded from the walls of the stone hall into his ears. Granger sounded scared, in trouble. Draco shook his head. She didn't matter right now. What mattered was finding his parents and getting the hell out of here. No, she was Granger, one third of the Golden Trio. She could defend herself. Without even checking what was going on, Draco ran. He ran as fast as he could. Granger's voice replaying in his head over and over again. _

_"No! Please! No!"_

_Draco held his mother's wand tighter, having never let go of it, and gritted his teeth, not believing what he was about to do... _

"Malfoy, wake up!" Hermione said, shaking his shoulder.

Hermione had fallen asleep for a few hours when she heard Malfoy shifting. He was still frowning and was turning his head from side to side as if trying to snap out his dream, but couldn't.

"It's only a nightmare-"

Malfoy suddenly grabbed her arms in a tight grip and yelled, "Get off her!"

Hermione was about to struggle against his grip, but his words froze her on the spot, wide eyed.

Malfoy was breathing hard, beats of sweat building on his forehead and all he could do was stare at Hermione.

He finally noticed that he had been dreaming and let go off her. "Didn't mean to scare you." Malfoy said, looking away from her.

Without a word, Hermione stood up, she knew what his nightmare was about. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who remembered that horrid night, nine years ago.

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked, as she turned around to face Malfoy in the eyes.

"I was dreaming, Granger. People can't control their dreams-"

"Not that." she said, flatly. "That night, Malfoy."

Malfoy didn't need anymore explanation, he knew exactly what she was referring to.

They both knew...

_This was it, no one was going to rescue her. Hermione's innocence was going to be stolen from her, just like that. What wrong has she done to deserve this? Hermione could feel the Death Eater fumble with the zipper of her jeans, that had miraculously gotten stuck. She tried fighting and doing wand-less magic, but that required concentration, something that was difficult to achieve at the moment. Would he kill her after he was done? Or would he just leave her there, broken? A tear escaped and she sobbed, Hermione felt so defeated._

"_Please…don't do this."_

"_Shut the fuck up you filthy mudbl-"_

"_GET OFF HER!"_

_The weight of the Death Eater was suddenly off Hermione and he was thrown against the stone wall in a matter of seconds. Hermione slowly raised her head to see the identity of her savior. _

**_oOo_**

_Draco was livid, his shaking hands were balled up in fists and wand in hand. He was beyond furious that nothing would calm him down. _

_At first, when he had turned the corner and could no longer smell the fresh air that would guide to freedom, he thought it was a mistake, but rapidly reconsidered. Bile had risen up his throat when he saw in what kind of trouble Granger had gotten herself into. A man -definitely a Death Eater- twice her size, was straddling her on the ground, holding her hands above her head and was apparently struggling with her pants. He stood frozen. Sure, Draco's dad was no role model figure, but his mother raised him well. She beseeched him that no man should ever raise his hand upon a woman or steal her virtue by force, even if it _was_ Granger. _

_As he witnessed the happenings he could hear his mother's voice of reminding him of it. That's when, instead of fear, Draco felt anger. If he would have a sister, he would never want this to happen to her. Right then he heard Granger beg and that's what did it. The last thing he remembers was yelling and grabbing the Death Eater by the back of his robes and shoving him against the wall._

_Now he stood awaiting for the man's reaction, but he could feel Granger's eyes on him. She was probably surprised of what happened, just like he was._

"_What do you think you're doing, Boy?" the man hollered, as he stood up and dusted his robes off. Obviously, this one didn't know of Draco's neutrality take on the war, yet._

_Draco paused, _what_ was he doing? Suddenly, the anger he had felt seconds ago evaporated and was left with anxiety. What does he do, now? Should he run? No, then what was the reason for him doing what he just did?_

"_What do _you _think you're doing?" Draco countered, lamely._

"_Having fun. You can have her after I'm done." said the Death Eater with a nasty smirk that made Draco's skin crawl. The man then made a move to reach for Granger._

_Using his fast Quidditch skills, Draco quickly grabbed Granger's arm and pulled her up, then pushed her behind him._

"_I'm not a patient man. Now hand her over!" Granger's attacker bellowed. _

"_You…you don't touch her!" Draco was at a lost. He looked back at Granger, she was holding her wand tightly to her chest and her eyes were full of unshed tears. "Go!" he tolde her but she wouldn't leave, Granger's eyes were transfixed on Draco's. He was growing frustrated with her immobility. "Run to safety, damn it!" he didn't just risk himself for nothing._

"_Lucius' kid saving a mudblood!" said the Death Eater, appalled._

_Draco turned around and held his wand at the ready. It would be much easier if Granger ran that way he could go his own way and leave all this-…_

_Right then, something weakly, crashed against his back. He turned and once again found that it was Granger, she was holding onto his robes, like a child would when frightened. This wasn't what he meant when he told her to run to safety._

"_Traitor!" the infuriated man yelled._

_Draco turned his head fast enough to see the Death Eater direct his wand at them, followed by a flash of light._

**_oOo_**

"Avada-"

"Stupefy!"_ Hermione shrieked with all her might._

_She was scared…so scared. Everything was happening so fast. First, a Death Eater was on top of her about to do the unthinkable, then Malfoy shows up and…saves her? What was going on? Malfoy defending her, telling her to go to safety. That's just…unrealistic. The moment Malfoy had thrown the man off of her, Hermione knew she needed to run, but she couldn't. She felt that if she ran someone else would catch her and no one, not even Malfoy, would be there to rescue her. So she clung to him. When he told her to run to safety, Malfoy was nearest 'safe' spot and so she went to him. How she wished Harry and Ron were with her right now._

_While Malfoy was distracted with her reaction, Hermione had managed to see the Death Eater point his wand at them. It was as if Hermione had reawakened and managed to beat her attacker. He flew several feet off the ground and landed on the ground with a loud 'thud' and cracking noise._

_Both teenagers stood frozen. There was a ringing noise in Hermione's ears. She was mad. The maddest she's been in her entire life. That man just tried to take her innocence from her. How could someone be that vile? _

_Hermione let out a sob, pushed Malfoy away from her and ran towards her attacker. She stood before him for several seconds and without any warning, she let out her rage. Hermione started kicking him anywhere she could. She sobbed as she did this._

"_You…stupid…git!" she said in-between kicks. "How…dare…you!"_

"_Granger!" Malfoy said as he ran towards her. "Stop!"_

"_He tried to…" Hermione couldn't stop, she felt that if she did the man would stand up and trap her again._

"_I know!" Malfoy didn't know what to do. She was acting like a crazy woman._

_Then Malfoy did something so unexpected that it petrified Hermione, causing her to stop everything. He hugged her. His arms wrapped around her, trapping her arms in-between their bodies and held on. In that instant, Hermione felt safe and secure enough to freely sob on his chest._

"_He tried to…rape me!" she looked up at Malfoy in the eyes, as if he didn't know what the Death Eater was going to do to her._

"_I…" he didn't know what to do or say. Her eyes were full of tears and fear that he knew it would be engraved into his mind forever, but he awkwardly said,"…but he didn't." _

_Hermione nodded her head. She needed…wanted Harry and Ron, but how would she explain this to them?_

"_And Granger…" Malfoy turned towards the unconscious man , without letting go of her, and said, "this is how you kick." he launched his foot into the Death Eater's upper body, hard. He then smirked when they heard a crunching sound. _

"Look, Granger…" Malfoy said, breaking both of them off their contemplation of that night. He looked everywhere, but her. "I was passing by and…it just happened."

Hermione looked at him in disbelief and said, "You were just passing by? I know you, Malfoy. I know that you're not those kind of people that feel bad for people and help them. Especially for people like me."

"Think what you want, Granger."

"I have! You don't know how much I've thought about it. For nine damn years, Malfoy and I still can't come up with a logical explanation for your actions."

"Logic! Is that all you use to figure out people's motives?" Malfoy said, irritated, "You know, Granger, life isn't all about _logic_. It wasn't _logic_ that took me to where you were-"

"Then what was it?" Hermione's waited nine years to know his motives for that night. It wasn't like Malfoy to save a muggleborn for no reason, but that wasn't what bothered Hermione the most. What bothered her was that she owed him. She owed him for saving her innocence and she wanted to at least know the reason behind it.

"It was my mother!" Malfoy bellowed. "There, you got your bloody answer, Granger! Are you happy, now?"

Hermione was confused. What did Malfoy's mother have to do with what happened? She frowned and asked, "What does your mother have to do with this?"

"Should've known you were going to ask." Malfoy said, crossing his arms. "My mother raised me well, Granger and there are things that a man shouldn't do to a woman. Happy?"

Hermione was shocked that Malfoy actually listened to his mother. She always figured that he was more in his dad's side, but she was, once again, wrong about Malfoy.

"Oh." was all she could say.

"What? Disappointed?" Malfoy smirked. "Did you think I did it because I liked you, Granger?"

"What!" said Hermione, appalled. Typical Malfoy behavior, every time she would believe that he maybe had a heart he'd ruin the moment. "That would be the end of the world, if that ever happened. I, myself, prefer to stay alive."

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the over-confident witch and said, "When are you going to take these bandages off?"

Hermione was brought back to think about what happened last night and asked, "What happened last night?" while she took of the bandages of Malfoy's head and chest.

"I've had enough questions for one day." he answered, wincing.

"You're going to be a bit sore, so I'd recommend no work today." Hermione said as she read his expression. When Malfoy was bandage-free she asked, "Were Harry and Ron…hurt?"

Malfoy made a growling sound and fisted his hands, "Why don't you ask them. I'm sure Weasley is in _perfect_ conditions to answer you."

_Why is he mad now? _Hermione thought. Was Ron responsible for what happened? She would ask, but Hermione doubted he would answer her Owls or want to talk to her. Maybe she'll ask Harry, he's bound to know what happened. After all, him and Ron are in the group-

"Don't drink that!" Hermione snapped out her thoughts when she saw Malfoy about to drink the sleeping potion.

"What! Why not?"

"Because," Hermione walked to Malfoy's bed, where he was still laying down and took hold of the flask, "it's no ordinary sleeping potion. You're supposed to take it twenty four hours apart-"

"Give it, here." said Malfoy, not letting go off the flask. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"No!" Hermione said, trying to pull the flask out of Malfoy's grasp.

Malfoy was determined to drink that potion he pulled on Hermione's hand that had the vial and tried to pour it into his mouth. Hermione pushed the vial upward while Malfoy jerked his hand violently, causing her to fall on top of him.

"Ah, Granger!" Malfoy moaned, painfully.

"Sorry." replied Hermione, still holding on to the vial Malfoy was holding. "It's…it's bad for you." Hermione tried to explain again, but found it hard. His face was centimeters away from hers, his steel grey eyes staring at her brown ones. For a minute, Hermione thought that she could get lost in Malfoy's eyes….

"GET OFF MY DADDY!" a shriek came from the entrance. Serena was standing at the door, her hands on her hips and a deep frown covered her small forehead.

"Oh no." Hermione said.

**Ooooh Hermione got caught in bed with Draco. Well, they weren't doing anything bad at least hehe ;-).**

**I am soooo sorry for the late update. I re-wrote this chapter because I wasn't very happy with it and I was going to post it earlier today, but guess what? My damn computer erased the WHOLE chapter. The only line it had on there was the first sentence :-(. I was so upset because I really worked hard on improving it and I had to re-write it all over again from scratch. It's also a bit longer than the other chapters, I hope you guys liked it :-).**

**So I finally revealed what happened nine years ago. What did you guys think about it? ( I know it doesn't really happen, but it's part of TPN) Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter and what you think might happen in the future.**

**I also have a favor to ask. I like listening to music while I write and I was hoping if you guys would be able to leave the name and artist of songs that have a good beat, motivates you to write, or anything that sounds good. I need a new playlist. Thanks.**

**Thanks to all of my reviewers for the great encouragement I've been receiving :-D.**

**Ok, I'll let you guys go. It's pretty late and I'm supposed to wake up really early tomorrow.**

**'Till next time,**

**_-Jacquesthevamp x_**


	8. Serena's Hate

**A/N at the end :-P.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter VIII- Serena's Hate**

Hermione immediately jumped off of Malfoy like if he had burned her. In her haste, Hermione almost lost her balance, but recovered and stood beside Malfoy's bed, as if waiting for orders. She glanced at Serena and swallowed. The child looked really mad, but they weren't doing anything bad. Sure, she was on top of Malfoy, he was shirtless and they were really close, but nothing happened. Ok, she got a bit nervous and her hands were sweaty and her heart raced furiously. Did Malfoy really provoke that reaction from her? Okay, then it was bad...really bad.

"Hey, Darling." Malfoy spoke up.

Serena didn't answer, instead she walked over to her Daddy's bed and climb it. The whole time she kept her eyes on Hermione, it reminded her of Malfoy. The little girl then laid beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "He's my Daddy and you can't have him!"

"Serena, I wasn't-"

"Go away you dumb nanny!"

"Serena!" Malfoy scolded, trying to sit with Serena still clutching to him. "Don't be rude."

"But Daddy, she's trying to steal you away from me. I know she is!"

"I'm not-" Hermione tried to defense herself, but was cut off by the screaming child.

"Yes you are! That's why you locked me in my room!"

"You did what?" Malfoy said, puzzled.

"I didn't-" Hermione stopped and thought about last night. She did lock Serena's room with a spell, but that was only because she heard noises and thought it was someone dangerous. When it turned out to be Malfoy Hermione didn't want Serena to see her father in a bloody mess and she also -kind of- forgot she had done that. "I had to uh...there was uh...this problem. Remember the 'problem', Malfoy?" she said, giving him a you-better-agree-with-me look.

Malfoy stared at her like if she had grown an extra head, but then remembered the 'problem', "Oh that problem. Yes, we didn't want to wake you up, Darling." but Malfoy knew that his daughter was too smart to believe that lame excuse.

Hermione has

"You've brainwashed my Daddy!" Serena wailed, as tears formed in her dark brown eyes. "I hate you...you...evil git!" she said as she jumped off the bed and fled the room.

"Serena!" Malfoy called after her, eyes wide at what his daughter just said. He stood up and yelled, although the girl had already left, "Who taught you that kind of language?"

"Malfoy-" Hermione tried.

"I've never spoken ill in front of her-" Malfoy stopped and then directed his attention on Hermione, "It's your fault!"

"How is this my fault?"

"You took her to that dump of a house, with the Weasley's!"

"It's not their fault!" Hermione defended her friends, but at the same time tried to remember if anyone had said anything similar to what Serena had said.

"Don't tell me Weasley said great things about me!" sarcasm dripped from Malfoy's tongue.

been at Malfoy Manor for almost a month taking care of Serena, but that's not all she's been doing. Hermione has also studied the child's behavior and reactions to situations. And by the look on Serena's face Hermione could tell that the girl did not believe her story about last night.

"Of course he didn't!" Hermione said and then remembered that it was Ginny who had called Malfoy an evil git. "Well, _he_ didn't call you names in front of Serena."

"Then who did?"

"It doesn't matter. It wont happen again."

"You're bloody right it wont or else-"

"Or else, what?" Hermione challenged, taking a step closer to him.

Silence emitted, Hermione could tell that Malfoy was thinking of something. Maybe ways of how he could 'or else' her?

**oOo**

Draco stared at Granger's brown eyes. How she irked him. A day didn't go by that she made him feel things. Loathing things. Her eyes were full of determination and always had that courage that he found utterly disgusting. Was Granger always this way? How could Potter and Weasley stand her all these years?

Weasley. Even the thought of his name made him angry, but this wasn't the time to think of that idiot.

Draco took an intimidating step closer to Granger and said, "Or else I'll-"

"Get away from my son, you filthy mudb- muggleborn!" Lucius roared as he stormed into the room, almost breaking the door off it's hinges, with Serena in arms and Narcissa in tow.

Granger jumped at his unexpected presence and took a step back, while Serena had an evil smirk plaster on her face.

"What have you done to him?" the head Malfoy said, dauntingly.

Both Granger and Draco looked at each other confused. What had Granger done to him? Well, except for healing his injuries and staying with him all night. _She stayed? _Draco thought, barely noticing that just now, but why?

"I demand an answer-" Lucius' eyes wandered to the bloody Auror suit and a look that could kill appeared, directing it at Granger.

"You!" he handed Serena over to his wife. Narcissa gave him a confused look and when he motioned to the bloody robes she gasped and started to walk out, not wanting Serena to see.

"Give her a chance to explain, Lucius." Narcissa said with worried calm.

"Of course." Lucius spat out.

"Gramps, Nanny Granger brain washed my Daddy! Do something!" Serena shouted as her grandmother walked out of the room with her.

"How dare you put a finger on my son." Lucius said in a low, but dangerous voice. He gripped his snake cane tighter and took a step closer to Granger.

"I didn't do anything to your son except for-"

"For helping me clean this mess." Draco interrupted. He knew that Granger wasn't going to stay quiet of what happened last night and that was the last thing he needed.

Draco didn't need his father knowing about his injuries last night. He was sure if his father knew then he would tear Weasley to shreds. The first time this had ever happened, Draco had to literally _Petrificus Totalus_ him, so Lucius wouldn't become Weasley's murderer. Since then, Draco hasn't let his father catch him whenever he came home injured. His mother, of course, knew. She didn't over react like his father did, but Draco knew that she held resentment against Weasley. Narcissa is also the one that would tend to his injuries, but last night Granger had found him instead.

"Why is there blood on your robes?" Lucius said, staring at them suspiciously.

"Because I had to aid an Auror that was badly injured." Draco responded with a straight face before Granger could open her mouth.

Draco should be ashamed that he could lie to his father so easily, but he wasn't. Since the downfall of the Dark Lord, Draco had completely lost the trust and respect he once held for his father. Now a days Lucius received an amount of respect that Draco was willing to give, but that was only to set a good example for Serena.

"Very well." Lucius said, glaring at Granger, frustrated that he couldn't blame anything on her. It must have taken him a lot strength to say in a monotone voice.

**oOo**

The whole time between the short communication span of the Malfoy men, Hermione stared at younger Malfoy male. What was he doing lying to his father? Most importantly; why did he have to lie? Malfoy was hiding something from her. No, he was hiding something from Mr. Malfoy. Why would he hide his injuries from his father? Did Mrs. Malfoy know, too? Hermione's head started to hurt. There were so many unanswered questions swirling in her head that Malfoy had and would deny to answer...

"And Granger," Mr. Malfoy said as he opened the door, "stay off of my son. You're Serena's nanny, not Draco's play-doll." and left.

Hermione's jaw dropped and her cheeks automatically reddened all while Malfoy sniggered. How did Mr. Malfoy now about her falling on-

_Serena._

Hermione clenched her fists. That little...ugh...told on her! Great, Mr. Malfoy probably thought that she was trying to seduce his son now. Ew. Malfoy's play-doll, was he serious. Hermione was here for business, not to 'play' with Malfoy.

"Shut up." Hermione growled, as Malfoy laughed.

"My play-doll," he chuckled, "like if I would ever use _you _for that."

Hermione huffed a walked out. Malfoy is such an immature jerk. _That's not what you thought about him last night_. A voice in her head said as she entered her room and closed the door behind her. _He was asleep and had his stupid mouth shut, anyone would agree he looked like an angel… right?_

Hermione shook her head. Great, she was talking to herself now. She needed a warm shower that would clear her mind enough to find a way to explain things to Serena so she wouldn't lose the young girl's trust. Hermione let out a laugh as she imagined Serena telling on her and Mr. Malfoy's reaction to what Serena had seen. She set a fresh pair of clothes she was going to wear on the bed and went straight to the bathroom.

She admired the beauty of it. Sure it was just a bathroom, but the most beautiful she's ever seen or been in. The floor was made out of soft, white marble, the counter and the tub were too made of marble. The water faucets were gold -Hermione wondered if they were in fact real gold, but knowing the Malfoy's they probably were.

Hermione decided on taking a bath instead of a quick shower. After all she did for the ungrateful git last night, she deserved it. After the tub had filled with the right amount of warm water, Hermione unclothed herself and submerged. Instantly, the tension in her body dissolved, her muscles relaxed and she felt more awake. This though, made her think...a lot. There were so many questions swirling in her head. What happened to Malfoy? Was Ron involved? Why didn't Malfoy tell his father the truth? And the question that bugged her the most, but didn't want to think about; How did Malfoy's wife die? He had mentioned Astoria's name last night, which was what sparked that question up.

Hermione grumbled, annoyed with herself. She shouldn't get too involved in Malfoy's life, that wasn't her job. Her job was to be Serena's nanny, that was it. _Ok, from now on no getting to close to them. _Hermione proposed. _Well, maybe find the answers to my questions, but stay at a certain distance away. _With that planned out Hermione relaxed into the water.

**oOo**

"Ouch!" Hermione yelped, rubbing the aching spot on her forehead, "That hurt, Serena!" said Hermione as she dodged another doll.

After Hermione had taken one of the best baths ever, she went to check on Serena. When she entered the girl's room she found Serena sitting on the floor, surrounded by various dolls that wore sparkly gowns. Hermione had approached and tried to talk to her, but the child just ignored and kept brushing her doll's hair. Being a person that doesn't give up, Hermione pried until she finally got a response, but it was not one she expected. Serena had turned around and glared at Hermione with those big brown eyes, making her gulp. All of the sudden, Serena lunged a doll at Hermione hitting her on the head. Hermione had taken a deep breath to control her frustration, but the child threw another doll, then another and another. Hermione ended up taking cover behind the white rocking chair by the window. Thinking it was safe, Hermione peeked, but was once again hit. Serena was mad, really mad that the brunette witch felt a bit helpless. Yelling at the child to stop would cause for an even bigger mess and trying to talk things out would gain her more dolls to the head.

"Serena, please," Hermione reasoned, still behind the rocking chair, "stop. I'm sorry!"

"No you're not!" the little girl screamed.

_Ha! Finally, she's talking._

"Yes, I am!"

"No." Serena ran out dolls to throw, so just stood with her small hands in fists. "All that you stupid nannies want is to steal Daddy!"

"What?" Hermione said, standing up from her position, confused.

"That's the only reason you lot want to be my nanny!" angry tears appeared in the young girl's eyes. "I'm six years and a half, but I am smart you know!"

Hermione couldn't help, but grin. Serena _was_ smart, a little too smart for her age. Then, Hermione's expression changed when she thought of what Serena had said. Nannies trying to 'steal' Malfoy? Seduce him or something? No wonder Serena holds such strong grudges against them. That also explains her behavior towards Hermione. The brunette had come to believe that hating her just ran in the Malfoy blood, but was wrong.

Hermione walked toward the fair haired child and knelt in front of her, "I'm not trying to steal-"

"LIAR!" Serena yelled, closing her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. "YES YOU ARE!"

Then two things happened simultaneously; Serena's small hand connected with Hermione's cheek and Malfoy walked in.

Everything went silent, only Serena's sobs could be heard.

"Serena!" Malfoy gasped, a look of horror plastered on his face. He rushed over to her and was about to turn her to him when Hermione beat him to it.

She scooped Serena into her arms, like a mother would with her baby, and held her small form to her. The child immediately began to thrash and yell, but Hermione just held on tighter.

"Let me go!" Serena cried, "I hate you!"

Hermione stared at Malfoy with tears in her eyes. She wasn't crying because of what her charge did, but because of how much anger the small girl held. Serena was too young to feel such things, that it devastated Hermione, but even worse that it was directed at her. Heck, she was part responsible for that anger. But why so much anger?

"Go." Hermione told Malfoy, trying to keep her voice from quivering.

"I'm not leaving my-"

"Just go, Malfoy!" she said, a tear streaming down her face and struggling with Serena at the same time.

Hermione wanted sometime alone with the child. She wanted to know, for once and for all, why she thought nannies were trying to steal her dad. Hermione had ruled out jealousy because if it was then it wouldn't have cause her charge this much…pain.

"Please, just for a little bit." Hermione supplicated.

Malfoy nodded, his steel gray eyes boring into Hermione's brown ones. He reluctantly turned and opened the door, but before he left he said, "Five minutes, Granger. That's it."

Hermione nodded. She could tell that he was worried about Serena and that he didn't completely trust her with his only daughter.

"Don't leave me, Daddy!" Serena cried.

Malfoy held on to the door knob tight, making his knuckles go whiter than they already were. He gritted his teeth and in a swift motion exited the room, leaving a struggling nanny and a wailing girl in her arms.

"Daddy!" Serena sobbed as she heard the door click shut.

"Shh, it's ok Serena." Hermione soothed as more tears prickled her eyes.

"I hate you! Put me down!"

"No." Hermione said, sternly. "We're going to have a talk."

"I don't want to talk to you!" Serena was moving out of control in Hermione's arm that she didn't notice when she kicked her nanny in her side stomach.

Hermione winced at the slight pain, but said, "Well, you're going to have to listen to me." and with that she began, not knowing what else to do, "Serena, I don't know why you hate me so much. If it's because you think I want to steal your dad you're wrong. I don't like your dad, never had and probably never will. I want you to understand that I am here for you and for you only." Hermione let out a small sob, but continued, "You hold so much anger that it's not good. It'll hurt and poison you. I don't want that to happen to you. I care too much for you to let that happen and I'm not going to let it happen."

Hermione stopped because her sobbing was getting a bit out control. She felt Serena stop struggling and Hermione began to rock back and forth, like if she was a baby. Hermione had said the truth. Serena didn't need to worry about her stealing Malfoy because she didn't give a damn about him. What caused Hermione the new torrent of tears was that she was beginning to care for the girl in her arms. She didn't want to see Serena hurt in any way, but she guessed that this was the bond forming between a nanny and their charge.

"I..I don't want another…mummy." said Serena, quietly sobbing in Hermione's chest.

Hermione's heart clenched at the girl's words. So this was the reason behind Serena's hate. The poor girl was scared that nannies were trying to replace her mother and she had turned it all into anger. Hermione gave her a squeeze and walked over to the white rocking chair and sat down with Serena still safely in her arms.

"I'm not going to replace your mum, Serena. No one can." Hermione said, rocking the chair back and forth. "You know something?"

"Huh?"

"No lady nor nanny could ever replace your mum, unless you let it happen, but she'll always be here," Hermione pointed at Serena's chest, "in your heart and no one can ever change that." she smiled as a tear ran down both their cheeks.

Serena made herself comfortable in Hermione's arms and her eyes started to droop. "Can I tell you something, but you won't tell Daddy because it'll make him sad?" Serena looked up with teary eyes that melted Hermione's heart.

She nodded, knowing that her voice would crack if she spoke.

"I…I want my mummy back."

Everything came crashing down on Hermione. She's never felt these kind of emotions before. Sure, she's babysat James many of times, but it was nothing like this. He had both his parents and didn't have to suffer through the sorrow Serena was going through. Hermione felt as if she was in a labyrinth where she couldn't control the path she walked through, with too many dead-ends and unknown surprises. She didn't like it, but she was going to stay there, as long as it was for Serena.

Hermione gave the girl a slight squeeze and looked down, she was sleeping. The blond child greatly resembled her father, she too, looked like an angel.

oOo

Draco stood outside the door to his daughter's room. He couldn't find the strength in him to leave. It wasn't that he thought Granger was going to harm her, but it was just state he left Serena in. She's never slapped anyone before. Draco was horrified when he had walked in a seen his little girl slap his arch nemesis . If he was ten years younger, Draco knew that he would have encouraged Serena's behavior, but that was the thing. He wasn't ten years younger. He was a mature adult and a father. Draco had learned from his mistakes and didn't want a repetition of his actions in his daughter, that, he wouldn't be able to stand. It'd be the death of him.

Draco leaned on the door as he heard his daughter yell. He's never seen Serena so…angry. It felt as if she was in pain from that anger. He knew his daughter, but this has never happened that he doesn't know what to do. He felt lost. It wasn't as if he got a manual handbook on how to raise a daughter as a single father.

He heard another shriek and had to contain himself from bursting into that room and taking his daughter into his arms. Draco slid down, feeling helpless, something he wasn't used to.

"Astoria," he whispered, "please, help me. What do I do?" he looked up hoping for some kind of sign that would tell him what to do. Draco wasn't a religious person, but he did believe in a Heaven and Hell and he believed that his dear wife was up there, looking down on them, but there was no sign.

A minute passed, then another, until it was finally five minutes. Granger's time was over. Draco was about to stand when he heard his daughter's nanny begin to speak. Apparently, the old Gryffindor wasn't giving up on Serena either. That somehow made Draco feel calm, so he sat back down and listened. After Granger's speech was over, Draco couldn't help, but feel a slightly thankful for the way she expressed herself about Astoria.

Draco stood up and was about to turn the door knob when he heard the most heartbreaking thing his daughter has ever said. She wanted her mum back. Draco felt that he was going to break all over again. How he wished that Serena wasn't going through all this pain. How he wished that bloody day never happened. He remembered it clearly…

"_Draco don't you think Serena's dress is just adorable!" his wife gushed, their three year old daughter in her arms._

"_Just a minute." Draco said, reviewing some documents._

_They were currently in his study. Draco had been trying, all day, to fix the some undocumented expenses made at Malfoy Enterprises. Someone was stealing from him. Someone he trusted. He clenched his fists as he imagined beating that person into a bloody pulp with his bare hands. _

_Everything in his life was perfect. He had a beautiful wife and daughter, he was an Auror in training and was in charge of Malfoy Enterprises. Well, everything was perfect until some slimy git decided to steal from him, his family. This, he would not forgive._

"_Draco, just look at her." Astoria said, bouncing the curly haired child on her hip. The child laughed in delight._

"_Not now!" Draco stood up and ran his hand through his pale-blond hair. _

_It was easy for Astoria to go shopping and spend lots of Galleons. Galleons they urgently needed, but she didn't know that. Draco didn't want to worry her about their situation. If he didn't fix this problem soon then Malfoy Enterprise was going to go bankrupt. He started to pace in front of the fireplace._

"_What's wrong, Draco?" Astoria asked, worried._

"_Nothing," he huffed, "nothing is wrong! Can't you just leave me alone!"_

"_Well," Astoria said, offended, "You don't have to take whatever's wrong with you out on me!"_

"_I'm not taking anything out on you!" Draco's patience was gone. "You think it's easy for me to be an Auror and manage Malfoy Enterprise, Astoria! Well, it isn't ok! So just leave me alone, I don't want to see you right now!" as soon as those words came out, Draco regretted them, but it was too late._

"_I'll be working on some potions. Don't wait up for me." Astoria answered in cold tone. "Unless, you 'want' to see me." she said, sarcasm dripping off her voice._

_Draco saw as she smiled at Serena, but glared at him and left his study._

That was the last time he saw her alive and smiling. He greatly regretted treating Astoria that way. It wasn't her fault that everything was going to ruins. It was his, for being easily distracted and away from the office for too long.

Draco rubbed his eyes, trying to make that day go away. He then noticed how everything was silent, too silent. He looked at the gold pocket watch he always carried and looked at the time. Ten minutes passed, more that enough for Granger. He opened the door, only to find Granger in the white rocking chair with Serena still in her arms. She looked so motherly. Draco shook his head, man was he tired.

Granger looked up and signaled him to be quiet by putting her index finger in front of her lips. Draco slowly walked over to them and found Serena sound asleep. He smiled as he saw her peaceful expression, an expression that he always wished to see on his daughter.

Granger stood up, walked to the pink four-poster bed and gently placed Serena in the middle. She stood next to the bed for several seconds and then turned to Malfoy, "I think I'll go rest for a while."

Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, but they held a sort of shine to them that Draco couldn't comprehend.

He nodded and said, "Serena's Godparents are coming over for dinner."

"Should I be present?"

"Yes." he said in a clipped tone.

After Granger left, Draco smirked. _Is she going to be in for a surprise when she meets Serena's Godparents._

* * *

**Eh? So was this the reaction you guys expected? Let me know what you thought about this chapter and what might happen next. Oooh, who do you guy's think Serena's Godparents are?**

**Ok, I'm extremely sorry for the late post. School has officially started and my time has be limited, but do not fear I _will_ continue with TPN no matter what :-D.**

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**Until next time, **

**Jacquesthevamp xx**


	9. Serena's Godparents

**Sooooo sorry for the lateness.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter IX- Serena' Godparents**

What a day.

Hermione walked into her room, exhausted. She threw herself on the comfortable bed and just laid there. Through out her nanny training Hermione had prepared herself for bad behavior and mood swings from children. No where in the books did she read anything about emotional roller coasters. She's been through too many emotions lately, some that she, herself, hasn't experienced before. She's never been in the position of explaining to someone that a mother is irreplaceable, especially to a child.

Not even a month at Malfoy Manor and Hermione has gone through aiding Malfoy, to helping his daughter cope with her mother's absence. All of the books she's read don't mention any of this. They don't mention a child that hates nannies because she thinks they are trying to steal their dad or a family that hates Muggleborns or even her friends not talking to her because of her job.

Hermione sighed, she wasn't going to let this get to her. No, she would stick to her plan and be there for Serena, but with an emotional distance between the two. _Serena_, she thought. The poor child was going through a hardship that was difficult to help with. Hermione could empathize on how it feels to be in her shoes, but she couldn't sympathize. She had felt the feeling nine years ago, when she had to perform the memory charm on her parents. It had felt like if she had lost them indefinitely, but that still wasn't the same feeling as Serena's because Hermione knew she was going to see them again, well at least she hoped at the time. Now, they are home and safe.

Hermione turned over on her bed and hugged her pillow. She was tired of the days events and refused to think more of the matters. What she did think of was when she would visit Harry so he could explain and answer her questions. With that organized, Hermione closed her eyes and let her mind wonder free.

**oOo**

"Sorry Daddy, but I have to change." the little blond girl smiled at her father and closed the door.

Draco shook his head and chuckled. Serena had kicked him out of her room with the excuse of having to change dresses for dinner with her godparents. Draco was glad to see Serena much happier. She now smiles like she used to when Astoria was alive. It just irked him that it was all thanks to Granger and the worst part of it was that he hadn't thanked her, yet.

He was about to go to his room when he heard a noise come from the room next to Serena's. He shook his head, thinking that he was being delusional. Then he heard it again, it was definitely coming from Granger's room and it sounded like if she was struggling? He wasn't sure. Without thinking about it he walked towards her room and placed his ear on the door so he could hear better.

_"Where are you?" _she sounded panicked.

Draco resented what he felt at the moment. It was like the time he..._saved _her. His heart started to beat fast and his hands itched with the need of wanting to do something. But, what could happen to Granger in the Manor? Since Serena's birth, every dangerous room and item were disposed of, so there was nothing that could harm anyone. Even the dungeons were gone, they were now his mother's "art gallery".

He heard her again. It sounded like if she was desperately trying to find someone. Part of Draco wanted to assume that Granger had gone crazy and was talking to herself, but the other part was telling him to go in there. Draco groaned, knowing exactly what he was going to do.

Slowly opening the door, Draco peeked inside the room. His eyes fell upon the unsettled form of Granger. She was flailing her arms and legs like if someone was holding her onto the bed and she was trying to get away from it. Unexplained panic filled Draco and he rushed over to her side. He grabbed her shoulders and tried to keep her pinned down on the bed so she wouldn't hurt him.

"Granger." he said, but as he examined her, Draco noticed she was still asleep. Granger was having a nightmare and terrifying one…

_"Help!"_

_Hermione looked around, trying figure out where the voice came from._

_"Help me!" the mysterious voice cried. _

_The young brunette witch turned around to face the direction she heard the voice come from. It was dark...pitch black. All Hermione could see was black. Where was this person?_

_"You have to help me!" the voice pleaded, urgently._

_"How...how can I help you!" Hermione yelled back. _

_Her heart was pounding against her ribcage and her hands were sweating cold sweat. She felt trapped, useless. Hermione frantically reached into her pockets, looking for her wand, but it was nowhere to be found._

_"Please!" it sounded as if the person was agonizing._

_"Where are you?" this time she tried concentrating on who the owner of the voice was, but it was as if her ears wouldn't let her hear it. Hermione knew it was someone she knew, she felt it in her gut. __Feeling imprisoned in the darkness Hermione began to run. She didn't know where she was running to, but just followed the scared voice. "Where are you?" she repeated ran as fast as she could for a long time._

_ Her legs ached and lungs burned every time she took a breath. Then a terrifying scream echoed through the darkness, freezing Hermione on the spot. She felt as if a blade had cut through her heart. She fell on her knees and sobbed, devastated that she couldn't help the mysterious person._

"Granger."_ she heard a voice say, but she didn't move as she felt a strange pain of loss. _

"Granger!" something began to shake her.

Her eyes snapped open, filled with unshed tears, "Where…where are-" she was frantically scanning the room with her eyes, Granger was disoriented.

"What?" Draco removed his hands off her shoulders and stood up straight. "What are you going on about, Granger?"

That seemed to wake her up because she turned to him with wide eyes. Draco felt a strange urge to ask her if she was okay, but he suppressed it.

"What are you doing here?" Granger asked, glaring at him.

"Well, you're welcome for helping you wake up from whatever nightmare you were having." Draco retorted, sarcastically.

Granger stood up from the bed and said, "I didn't need _your_ help…could've done it myself." she murmured the last part.

"It didn't seem like it." he challenged with a smirk on his face and continued, not wanting to hear her smart ass replies, "I just came to inform you that Serena's godparents will be arriving in a hour." he turned to the door, but before leaving Draco said, "Do try to dress somewhat…formal." and left chuckling.

Hermione gritted her teeth when Malfoy mentioned her nightmare and glared at his retrieving figure. Why did it always have to be him to appear when she was in need of help? Were the Gods against her or something? That wasn't what caused her foul mood, but what had been bothering her for a few days now. Hermione felt as if she had to repay him for what he did for her, nine years ago. She hasn't thanked him nor repaid her gratitude. It was a strange feeling at the pit of her stomach she felt, as if she owed him -which she really did, big time. It was part of the reason for her staying at the Manor. Hermione would repay Malfoy for rescuing her, even if that meant taking care of his spawn. But, that didn't feel sufficient and it scared Hermione because it reminded her of Harry and Peter Pettigrew.

_Why did it have to be Malfoy that night? _Hermione's hands balled up. She hated him with all her heart. She hated him for betraying his side, for finding her and the Death Eater, for rescuing and putting her in debt with him. Hermione hated Malfoy for being the cause of the awkward pull she felt towards him. Hermione took a deep breath and ran her hand through her brown mass of hair, she could feel that this was going to take a toll on her.

...

After a long, warm shower, Hermione stood in front of her wardrobe, wrapped in a white cotton towel. Malfoy had said to wear something _somewhat_ formal. What did that even mean? She had several nice dresses and robes, but she didn't want to seem too fancy for a dinner…or would it _be_ a fancy dinner?

_I should have asked more questions._ Hermione sighed, she would just have to find something that wasn't too fancy and somewhat formal. She scanned her closet until she saw an appropriate dress, it was one that Ron had given her for her last birthday, that would do.

Fifteen minutes later, the young brunette stood in front of the mirror, wondering if this was fit for their bloody dinner.

"Nanny Granger!" came Serena's voice from the other side of the door.

The child's voice sounded lighter and Hermione smiled.

"Come in, Serena."

The little girl didn't need any more telling, she burst into her nanny's room and jumped on her bed. "Look!" said Serena, jumping on the bed, "Do…you…like…my…dress."

Hermione turned around and said, "Oh my! You look beautiful." and truly the girl did. She had a red head band with a small bow right in the middle of it. It greatly stood out from her pale blonde curls. She had a puffy, light pink pleated dress and the cutest white mary-jane shoes Hermione has ever seen.

"Th…anks." Serena answered, as she tried to jump higher. "I…like…your…dress." she said, grinning. But, the little girl wasn't grinning to her nanny, she was grinning because her daddy would never allow her to jump on the bed…dumb nanny.

"Serena, please stop jumping on the bed," Hermione said, having read in her _How to be a Nanny_ book that jumping on the bed was one of the top hazardous things children do. "Merlin knows Malfoy will kill me if something happened to you." she mumbled, quietly.

"But…I…like…jumping." Serena whined. How did her nanny know. Could Nanny Granger read minds? _Cool. _The child thought, trying to jump higher.

"Yeah, well I would like to stay alive." Hermione said, as she caught Serena and stood her up in front of her. "So," Hermione needed to know who her Godparents were, that way she wouldn't be taken by surprised, "Who are your Godparents, Serena?" she said, fixing Serena's dress and tilting her bow to the side. It was better like that. The red bow in the center of the child's head made her resemble a present. _Who did it? Malfoy?_ she almost giggled at that part. Malfoy tying a bow…right.

Serena put her hand over her mouth and started snickered, "Daddy told me not to tell you." she said in a sing song voice.

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms on her chest. She had a feeling that was going to happen. _Let's see if Serena is loyal to her deal ol' Daddy._ Hermione smirked and kneeled in front of the blond child, to be eye to eye. "Serena," she said in her sweetest voice, "How about we compromise?"

The child gave a look of confusion to her nanny, "Comi-pro-mise?"

"Compromise." Hermione corrected. "You tell me who your Godparents are and I'll do something you want." she knew it was a risky thing. The last time she did it, Hermione ended up in the arms of her enemy.

"Hmm." Serena hummed, as she tapped her chin with her index finger, "Okay, we'll do a com-pro-mise," she said slowly. "I'll tell you if you lend me your wand."

Hermione stood up in a flash. This was a lose-lose situation, she should have known.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Hermione sighed. Well, at least she tried. She looked at the antique clock on her bedside table and said, "We have to go downstairs, your Godparents we'll be hear in any minute." she took Serena's hand and was surprised that the girl didn't reject her.

"Aw." Serena said, disappointed. She almost got her hands on a wand. Oh well, she'll try later, her Nanny was bound to leave her wand wandering around sometime. Serena looked up at Hermione and said in a neutral tone, "You look pretty." and quickly looked away. Her nanny will never know that she kind of liked her.

Hermione looked down, but Serena wasn't looking at her. "Thank you." she smiled. Hermione felt a strange happiness make its way to her heart. She would have been glad, except for the fact that this was Malfoy's child and she would be leaving in less than a year. Hermione couldn't risk getting attached to Serena.

As they walked down the hallway, Hermione could hear voices emerging from down the grand stairs. It was a woman, she sounded extremely familiar and a man, Hermione couldn't quite make out. Then of course, she could hear Malfoy speaking to them. When they had finally made it down to the parlor Hermione halted. It had to be _her_, Pansy Parkison. Serena's Godmother?

"Granger?" Pansy exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, a frown quickly forming on her forehead.

Parkison still resembled her younger self, but with more sophistication. She actually seemed graceful now, in a mean way.

"She's my nanny." Serena smiled as she ran towards the man next to Pansy. "Uncle Blaise!" she exclaimed and the tall, dark man caught her in a hug.

_Blaise Zabini?_ Hermione asked herself.

"Granger, I'm sure you remember Pansy and Blaise." Malfoy said with smirk on his face.

Draco looked between the brunette witch and Pansy. It was instantaneous. The eyes of both women lit up and if it wasn't for the fact that they were older, Draco would bet that none would have wasted time to hex each other.

"Of course, I do. How could I forget _her_." Hermione said, through gritted teeth. Malfoy had definitely chosen the worst Godparents a child could have. There was no doubt now that he literally lacked a functional brain.

"Draco…why is that mud- muggleborn here?" Pansy said, watching her language. Then her eyes grew wide and for one second Draco wished that he had produced a protecting charm because Pansy's expression was one that could kill. "I can believe you!" she said pointing her index finger at him and taking very slow, but intimidating steps. "Why would you hire Granger as my goddaughter's nanny!"

"Aunt Pansy, Nanny Granger says it's rude to point." Serena said, oblivious to the confrontation.

Pansy huffed and glared at Granger, but kept walking towards Draco. Why would he ever contract a muggleborn to care for Serena? And why did that muggleborn have to be Granger.

Draco took a step back and gave Blaise the you-better-hold-you-woman-down look. He was afraid of Pansy when she got like this, but it was something that he would never admit to.

"Pansy, calm down." Blaise said, putting a hand on Pansy's shoulders. He then had a the same look his partner had, "I'm sure Draco has a great explanation for this."

Draco sighed, irritated. This was just great, both of his best friends didn't like the fact that Granger was the nanny. He _should_ have seen that coming, "There is, actually," he started, "My mother found an organization of the best nannies and they sent us Granger." he explained nonchalantly. After all, this was his mother's fault. She's the one that planted the Nanny Forms in his room. He would have to speak with her.

"Then send her back." Pansy said, with a simple tone to her voice.

"That's not possible, well not until the year is over." Granger spoke up. Draco turned to her and she was wearing a smirk on her face, but her eyes were still lit with anger.

"What?" Pansy's eyes widened as if in horror, "A year…we'll have _her_ here for a year. This is the worst thing you've ever done Draco, the worst."

…_the worst thing._ Her words echoed in Draco's mind. It wasn't the worst thing he's done, no. The worst thing was still tattooed on his left forearm, that once caused him unbearable pain. The mark that merged him to an alliance that he had no choice over. Hiring Granger as his daughter's nanny, unknowingly, seemed like charity work compared to his dark past.

"He didn't hire me on purpose," Hermione's said, knowing that Parkinson's words had an effect on Malfoy, "My agency placed me here without any of us knowing." she explained. There it was. The strange urge to defend Malfoy's sorry ass. But, she just went along with it. Hermione didn't want to deal with her conflicting thoughts when there was Parkinson to deal with.

Draco turned to Granger and stared at her with confusion, but she didn't spare him a glance. What? What was Granger doing? Trying to defend him against Pansy? Eh, she served as a shield if his dear friend decided to hex him.

"So Draco and," Pansy scrunched her nose. "_you_ didn't know?" she said carefully.

"Yes," Granger nodded.

"That does not matter," Blaise spoke up with a deep voice, "We'll go to that agency and exchange nannies." he directed to his wife.

"Lovely idea." Pansy said, clapping her hands together and smiled for the first time during this _conversation._

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Granger's voice rang. Draco could tell she was enjoying this. "Malfoy and I signed a contract where the only way for me to be removed from the family is if I would lay a hand or wand upon the child," which was never going to happen, "or if I pay 5,000 Galleons." which was also never going to happen.

The Slytherin couple in front of him stared at Draco wide eyed. Blaise seemed to be shocked and frustrated, while Pansy looked ready to hex him.

"I see," Blaise said, straightening his robes and setting Serena down, whom looked confused, "Pansy give Granger the Galleons needed and we'll be done with this."

Pansy sped walked to the couch she had left her purse and picked it up. "I don't have the full amount at this moment, but I'll bring the rest-"

"No." Draco interupted. They were taking their roles of Godparents too far. Pansy and Blaise were there for when and if something bad happened to Draco to take Serena in, but as long as he was standing, everything he said will be done. "Granger stays. She has proven herself useful, lately," oh yes, very useful, "Now, it's time for dinner and no more talk about this subject." he said with authority. Draco looked over at Serena, whom wore a look of bewilderment.

"But, I kind of like Nanny Granger." Serena whispered, her almond shaped eyes sad. She would have never said that aloud, but Aunt Pansy and Uncle Blaise wanted her gone, why?

All four adults looked down at Serena.

Draco felt several emotions rise at the same time. He was glad that his daughter had finally taken an attachment to the nanny, but anger boiled through him when he realized that the attachment was towards Granger. It was another reason to hate her, but he couldn't bring himself to hating her for _that_ reason. It was ironic how _his_ daughter liked Granger when he's despised her his entire life.

"Fine." Pansy said, grudgingly. She didn't like seeing Serena sad, so for now she wouldn't utter another word about Granger. Pansy couldn't and wouldn't understand Draco's reason behind keeping Granger, but she had to do something. Yes, Pansy would go the said agency and demand another nanny. After all it was easier for children to forget, so Serena wouldn't suffer at all, "Come here, Rini." Pansy said, as her expression softened. Rini was the nickname her and Blaise had given Serena when they were chosen as her Godparents. "Tell me about your week?" she asked as Serena walked over to her and both made their way toward the dining room with Blaise in tow.

Draco was right behind his best friends and daughter, when he stopped. "Granger," he said turning around and facing her.

Bad idea. He couldn't help, but admire the woman in front of him. That blue dress made her skin look radiant and her hair was finally tamed into curls and her eyes-...

Draco shook his head, _what just happened there?_ Had he really been checking Granger out. Oh, that wasn't good, now was it.

_The color blue looks great on her though._ The voice in the back of his head said.

_Stop it! No thinking about the muggleborn that way_! Draco scolded his brain. He needed a drink, a Firewhiskey at that.

"I really don't think it's a good idea if I go in there." Hermione spoke up after Malfoy had fallen silent… and why was he looking at her like that. She fidgeted with her dress, feeling awkward under his gaze, "It'd be better if I stayed out." Hermione explained. She really didn't want to deal with Parkinson and Zabini. Plus, what Serena had said left Hermione a bit nostalgic. The girl actually wanted her here. It was another step toward gaining the child's trust and Hermione couldn't help but feel happy for that.

Draco shook his head and hoped Granger hadn't noticed him staring. She wasn't even _that_ good looking. It had just surprised him that she could actually pull off _some-what _formal_._

"You're Serena's nanny." he said in cold tone, "and you'll go where she goes, as long as I don't say anything about it." Yes, this was the best part of being the boss…especially Granger's boss.

Hermione death glared at Malfoy, "Fine." she didn't have any other options, now did she.

"That's what I thought." he smirked.

At that moment, Hermione wanted to turn around and punch him like she had on their fourth year at Hogwarts, but she was a grown woman, and the only thing she could muster was, "I hate you."

"I hate you too, Granger."

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the super later update. School has been horrible, it's like my professors have something against me. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know it was a little rushed, but do not fear I have the next chapter half done so there IS going to be another update soon. I seriously feel so bad for not updating sooner, but I'll make up for it. If you guys forgive me then I'll post Chapter 10 tomorrow. **

**I hope you guys liked it and please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, I didn't quite like it :-/.**

**And thanks for all of the reviews they're awesome! I can't believe I've reached more that 100 reviews :-D.**

**Thanks for your patience,**

_**-Jacquesthevamp**_


	10. Enchanted Carnival

**Here's the chapter I promised yesturday, I hope you guys like it ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter X- Enchanted Carnival**

"You wanna play Dolls?" the blond child in pigtails asked.

They were currently at breakfast. Thankfully, Lucius wasn't there due to a business conference in Germany and will be staying there for a week, along with Narcissa. Hermione was glad she wouldn't have to deal with him, too. Last night, had been horrible. Pansy and Blaise still hated her, but Hermione didn't worry because she felt the same way they did. What did worry her, though, was that they might try turn Serena against her. That would be an easy task because Serena loved her godparents and she would trust them over Hermione any day.

"Granger, Serena asked you a question." Malfoy said from behind the _Daily Prophet_.

"Oh yes, sorry," Hermione smiled at Serena, "I would love to play dolls with you." she had found that interacting with Serena was easier when they did something the child enjoyed.

Serena beamed and clapped her hands, "Yay, you can use my Pretty Purple Sparkly Princess doll." she said and was about to take a bite of her toast, when her eyes grew wide with interest. "May I see that, Daddy?" she said pointing at the _Daily Prophet_.

Malfoy gave his daughter and confused look, but nonetheless gave it to her. Was his daughter interested on what was going on in wizarding world?

"We have to go!" the child squealed loud, causing both adults to jump in their seats. "Daddy, please?" Serena said, batting her eyelashes.

"To where?" Malfoy asked.

"Here." Serena said pointing at the paper in front her.

"Darling, I can't see what you're looking at if you don't show me the paper." Malfoy said, patiently.

"Here, Daddy," Serena said as she got off her seat and went to show it to her dad.

"A carnival?" Malfoy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not just _any_ carnival, Daddy," Serena giggled at her dad's ignorance, "It's The Enchanted Carnival." she said in awe.

"I don't trust those places." Malfoy said, putting the paper down and taking a sip of his coffee.

"But, Daddy." the six year old whined.

"Serena, no." he said, sternly.

"Oh, come on Malfoy." said Hermione, setting her mug down, "It's just a carnival and it has great reviews. Plus, Serena needs to go out more." yes, that was true. Serena spent most of her time at the Manor. It would do her good to go our for a bit.

"How do you know?"

"It's an annual carnival, Malfoy," Hermione stared at him quizzically. Didn't he go out at all? "I've also read about it." she said.

"Should've known." Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, Daddy." Serena pleaded, "Pleeeaaasee." the child batted her eyelashes repeatedly and smiled sweetly at her father. She knew he couldn't say no to that face, the Serena Face.

"Anyone who's _someone_ is going." Hermione said, nonchalantly, hoping he would take the bate. She really wanted to go as well. Hermione knew that was childish, but she wanted to go out, at least for a little while. She was getting tired of being cooped up in the Manor and doing the same things over and over, every day.

Malfoy stayed silent for a minute. It seemed as if he was contemplating what she had said. If Hermione was right, Malfoy still cared about his reputation and being recognized as someone in society.

"Fine." Malfoy said, grudgingly. "We'll go."

"Yay!" Serena squealed. "This is going to be so fun!"

Hermione smiled, glad that Malfoy had fallen for her trick. He was too easily manipulated when it had something to do with his pride and reputation.

**oOo**

"I'm going to ride all the rides and buy a lot of chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and chocolate wands and…" Serena stopped her excited rant, looked up at her nanny and asked, "Will you get on the rides with me?"

"Of course I will." Hermione smiled at her charge.

Serena had been going on and on about what she was going to do and buy while at the carnival. Hermione practically knew what the child was going to say every time she spoke. She was happy to see the Serena act like a six year old. Since her very first day at the Manor as a nanny, Hermione had always interacted with a girl who seemed to be older than what she appeared to be, but that was because of all of the unexpressed anger Serena held in.

Hermione tied a red ribbon into a bow on Serena's blond curly hair and couldn't help, but admire how much the child looked like her father. The eyes and curls were the only thing that made her Astoria's daughter, but everything else was Malfoy. They were beautiful…well, just Serena not Malfoy.

"There," Hermione said, as she tilted the bow to the side, "Ready?"

Serena nodded, a wide smile playing on her face. She was really excited to go to The Enchanted Carnival. She's been to several, but only with Pansy and Blaise. Her dad was always too busy to take her and thanks to her nanny they were all going, together.

When they both descended to the living room, Malfoy was already there, waiting. Hermione couldn't help, but admire the way he looked. He was wearing a dark green button up dress shirt and some nicely fitted black slacks. His hair was just the same way it was in when they were in fourth year, except a tad longer, but not too long. When he turned around, that angel hair of his waved in the air and Hermione wished she could feel the texture of it.

_No! What am I thinking._ The brunette witch mind slapped her forehead. Since when did Malfoy start looking the way he did now? _Since that great dream of yours._ A greedy voice in her head said. It had been the worst dream ever, her and Malfoy…kissing. She didn't remember the dream clearly, but the one thing that she couldn't seem to forget was his lips upon hers. Hermione shook her head and instead of looking at Malfoy she directed her attention to the fireplace and mentally cursed her now warm cheeks.

"Do we Floo or Apparate?" Malfoy asked, with a smirk on his face. He had caught the young witch ogling him and blushing.

Hermione looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. Was this his first time going to a carnival. Unbelievable. "We Apparate, Malfoy." she was about to make a smartass comment, but refrained, knowing that'll put him in a foul mood. Merlin, Hermione knew too much about him. She didn't like that one bit, it made her uncomfortable.

Malfoy nodded and picked his daughter into his arms, he knew she was scared of Apparating. "Meet you there." was all he said before he vanished with a _pop_.

Hermione sighed. What was going on in her head? It was that stupid dream that had her like this. _It was just a dream. I _hate_ Malfoy._ She thought and felt much better. She did hate that evil git and that wouldn't change. Ever. Hermione took a deep breath, she really wanted to enjoy this with Serena, and then Disapparated.

"See, nothing happened." Draaco said. He was kneeling in front of a teary Serena. "Granger! What took you so long. _You_ scared Serena." he said, a very deep frown on his forehead. Draco despised anything or anyone that made his daughter cry and Granger was one of them.

"I thought you got lost in a world far away." Serena sobbed. She was terrified of Apparating. Serena was always told to keep her eyes closed while they traveled that way, but one time, out of curiosity she opened her eyes and everything seemed too confusing and scary for her. Now, she referred to it as a different world.

"Sorry, I thought I forgot something." Hermione said as a lame excuse. Had she really taken that long thinking about _Malfoy?_ Not good. "I'm right here, though." she said to Serena in a soothing voice. Hermione's heart fluttered. Serena had actually been worrying about her… and even cried. This cleared Hermione's mind of any thoughts about the horrific dream and proposed herself to have fun with Serena.

"Okay," Serena hiccupped, "Can we go play games now?"

Hermione nodded and grabbed Serena's hand. It felt natural to do that now.

The three waited in line at the entrance to get admitted. Hermione was willing to pay for her own admittance, but Malfoy had refused, exclaiming that he would because it was his daughter who'd invited her to the carnival. Hermione couldn't believed that even for that they had gotten into an argument. In the end, Malfoy had his way and now walked with a triumphant smirk on his face. Hermione was extremely tempted to wipe it off his face with a nice hex.

"Oooh!" Serena gushed, "Look at that!" she pointed at one of the rides.

Hermione looked at what the blond child was staring at and gulped. It looked like a rollercoaster from one of theme parks her parents used to take her when she was young. She didn't really like the fast speed and up's and down's it did. Hermione specially hated heights and _that_ thing went pretty high.

"You don't want to play a game instead?" Hermione said, cringing at the sound of screaming people. They were probably having fun, but not for Hermione.

"Scared, Granger." Malfoy smirked. He could tell that she was by the way her eyes scanned the ride.

"You wished." Hermione retorted. She wasn't going to let him know that she was terrified.

"Fine, then I guess there's no problem if we rode it." he said stepping towards the clerk and handing him three tickets.

"Yay! This I going to be so much fun." Serena said as she pulled on her nanny's hand.

Hermione groaned. Why did he have to be such a git? Oh yeah because he was Draco-freaking-Malfoy.

She slowly followed Serena and helped get in her seat. Each row in the cart was for three people, so Hermione and Malfoy sat on the side seats and Serena in the middle.

"You better hold on tight, Granger." were the last words Malfoy said before the ride began to move.

…

"Can we do that again?" Serena squealed as Hermione unbuckled her from the seat.

"I don't think your dad would want to." Hermione couldn't hold back her laughter.

At the beginning when the cart began to move, Malfoy was calm, but once it started going faster and up and down, he was screaming his guts out. He was literally yelling, _I'm going to die! _which had Hermione laughing through out the whole ride. After it was over, Malfoy had yanked his seatbelt off and ran somewhere. Where was he now?

"Serena, did you see where your dad ran off to?" Hermione said, scanning the crowd. Then she heard a series of cursing words and knew that it was him.

"Bloody hell." Malfoy said, leaning over a rubbish bin.

Hermione laughed some more, Malfoy had underestimated her. She may be scared of the big rides, but _she_ could handle them. On the other hand, Malfoy couldn't.

"Was that too much for you, Malfoy?" Hermione smirked.

"Shut it, Granger." he grumbled. The good thing was that he hadn't eaten anything before coming to this abominable place.

Malfoy straightened himself, and nearly toppled over - apparently still dizzy from the ride - but Hermione instinctively wrapped one arm around his waist, trying to hold his heavy form up.

It was instant. This reminded both of them of the night Malfoy had arrived to the Manor injured. Hermione's immediate reaction was to pull away, but she didn't, afraid that if she did he would fall.

"I'm fine." Draco grunted and slightly pushed her away. He didn't like it. Not one bit. It seemed that every time Granger touched him, something in him stirred and made him feel _something_. Something he refused to even think about.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Serena squealed. "Look over there!" she jumped and pointed towards the source of her excitement.

Hermione took her gaze off Malfoy and directed it to where Serena signaled. Malfoy seemed to have been thinking about something that had changed his mood. Hermione ignored it thinking it was her comment that ignited that.

"I want it." Serena said, a big smile flashing her two caretakers.

"You want it. You got it." Malfoy said, like if it was as simple as that.

The three made their way towards a nice looking game booth where there were several kids already playing there. It had several stuffed animals floating on the ceiling and moving targets on the wall. Malfoy gave the booth owner a ticket and encouraged Serena to play the game. The game was fairly easy…for Hermione. The kids were given fake wands that shot sparks if they flicked it the right way. Those sparks had to hit at least five moving targets in order for them to get a prize; the stuffed animal.

Hermione and Malfoy stepped back and let Serena play. Each time the little girl hit a target, she would jump up and clap her hands. Serena concentrated on the last target, flicked the wand and as the sparks flew to her objective target, it moved and missed.

"Hey, that's unfair!" Malfoy yelled.

He'd seen the damn booth owner use his wand to move Serena's target and he wasn't the only one.

"You tricky git!" Hermione screeched. Did that man think that _she_ wasn't going to see what he did. She had analyzed where the sparks where going to hit and it would have been the target if the man hadn't cheated.

"I don't know what you mean," the man said in a oblivious way, "Your daughter lost the game."

Hermione felt Malfoy tense beside her and as quick as flash, he ran up to the man.

"You cheating bastard." he growled as he harshly grabbed the clerk's shirt by the collar. "My daughter didn't lose." how dare that nobody say that about his Serena. She was a Malfoy and Malfoys never lost. Especially at something as easy as this garbage.

"Malfoy, let him go!" Hermione screeched as she ran to him and tried to pry his hands off the man's neck. The owner of the booth sneakily brought his wand up to Malfoy's head, but not sneaky enough for Hermione. "_Expelliarnus_!" the brunette witch yelled and caught the man's wand. She looked around and saw that people were beginning to notice. "Malfoy, let him go." she repeated, sternly and placed a gentle hand on Malfoy's arm.

Hermione looked down to check on Serena and was taken by surprised. The small blond child had her arms crossed across her chest and a proud smirk stretched on her angelic face. Serena was _enjoying_ this.

"Why should I, Granger." he responded, harshly tugging at the man's shirt collar.

"Malfoy, _please_." she said, tightening her hold on his arm. The last thing she wanted was for Aurors to appear and make an even bigger scene.

Draco could feel Granger's hand on his arm and truth to be told it made him feel less angry. He was still beyond furious with the stupid bastard who dared call his daughter a _loser_, but he could control his anger now. He heard Granger plead again and it irritated him to no end. Why must every plea Granger did remind him of the night he stupidly decided to save her freaking life? It was as if a bucket of cold water fell directly over his head when she spoke like that. He didn't like it, but Draco reasoned that this wasn't the proper place to show the git that Malfoy's didn't lose.

Draco groaned, he was going to do it. He was going to let go off the stupid bastard and it was all for Granger.

"Fine." he said, gritting his teeth and harshly released the man's shirt.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. It wouldn't look good if Malfoy started a brawl over a _game_. What was he thinking? He's a grown man with a daughter, not a teenager that fights over a lost game.

"Can I have my price, now?" Serena chirped, clearly happy that her daddy scared that dumb man.

"Yes, here you go." the man said, grudgingly as he massaged his neck and then handed Serena a pink stuffed dragon. "Stupid little brat." the man whispered in a low voice, thinking that no one heard him.

Hermione's ears rang and before anyone had time to see what had happened, her hand connect with the man's nose, hard, causing a nasty crunching noise. Hermione didn't know if it had been her hand or the man's nose that had broken, or maybe both.

Draco let out a laugh. Did Granger just punch a civilian? Oh yes, she did. He knew how that felt, being at the receiving end years ago. That's what that piece of scum deserved for calling his daughter a stupid little brat. One, Serena was _not_ stupid and second Serena wasn't a brat…she misbehaved, but never a brat.

"Ah! Lady!" the man yelped as his hands flew to his now bloody nose. "Why'd you do that for?"

Hermione frowned at the man, but was satisfied with the damage she'd cause. There was a sudden pang of pain on her right hand, the one that had successfully broken the man's nose, "Ouch," she clutched her hand to her chest, "You know why." Hermione glared at the man and tossed him his wand she had taken earlier. Now, it was his fault that her hand hurted like hell. She should hex him for that.

"Hermione!" an extremely familiar voice screeched, "Did you just hit the guy?"

Hermione turned to face the source of the voice, already knowing to whom it belonged to, Ron. Luna was next to him, with the same dreamy expression that has never changed. She didn't seem mad at Hermione, but Ron was another story. He was furious.

Draco tensed on the spot. Did he really have to be here, while he was enjoying watching Granger beat the living hell out of a git? He didn't want to deal with Weasley at all, so he took Serena's hand and was about to walk away, but Granger just stood there.

"I…I…he…" Hermione fell as if her heart had dropped to her stomach as she locked eyes with Ron. They were full of resent and some other emotion she couldn't depict.

"Hermione?" it was Harry.

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled a small smile. Harry was the only one that wasn't mad at her or so she hoped. "Harry." was all she could say when she noticed Ginny walk up to them, holding James' hand. The red head didn't look very happy.

"Told you _he_ was a bad influence on her." Ron sneered and glared daggers at Malfoy.

Draco held in his frustration. He wasn't about to show his bad side in front of his daughter.

"Or _he_ probably brainwashed her." Ginny added, with the same look her brother had.

Now this was angering Draco even more. He really wanted to leave before he did something he regretted later, but Granger just stood there. Frozen. What was her problem? Didn't she get along with her supposed _friends?_ Or did they turn on her when they found out she was his daughter's nanny. Now, that was interesting. He could use this to his advantage.

"There was no brainwashing from my part," Draco smirked, "She just grew bored with your pathetic company." oh yes, this would definitely get to Weasley.

"Malfoy!" Hermione said, snapping out of her daze. Even if her friends were mad at her, even if they felt that she betrayed them and even if they hated her, she would always stand up for them.

"What? I'm just saying the plain truth," Malfoy sneered at her, "Look at them, Granger. A. Pathetic. Crowd." he said, slowly.

Just like Draco had predicted, Weasley charged at him, but was stopped by Potter. He was too easily angered and always gave in to his emotions too easily. Draco smirked at the scene. "You truly are pathetic, Weasley." he would never get tired of saying that.

"Stop it!" Hermione yelled. She was literally caught in between, if she sided with Malfoy, Ron and Ginny would think that she's turned her back on them and if she sided with her friends then Serena would go back to hating her.

"You stay out if!" Ron yelled at Hermione as Harry tried to pull him back, "This is all your fault!"

"Ron-"

"We're leaving." Malfoy interrupted, in a cold tone.

"But…wait." Hermione mumbled. Maybe she could fix things with them right now. Maybe everything could be like it was before. Maybe they'll forgive her.

"Just go." Ron growled.

Hermione's eyes began to brim with tears. Ron has never acted like that with her, his blue eyes filled with hatred and resent. It hurt her more than anything in the world that she couldn't leave without trying to fix things between them.

Draco could tell, by Granger's hallow stare, that Weasley was hurting her and he didn't feel comfortable allowing this to go on any further, "This isn't worth it." he said, grabbing Granger's arm and pulling her away from the red-headed git.

Draco tugged at her arm, but she didn't move, it was as if she had become a statue, holding her hand to her chest. He saw her teary eyes and that did it. First of all, Draco wasn't good with crying women. Second, he didn't know how to deal with a crying Granger. Third, he felt something inside of him turn and twist at the sight of her unshed tears.

Wrapping his free arm around Granger's waist, he stared directly at Weasley's eyes and said, "You'll regret this." he then pressed the Granger and Serena to him and Disapparated.

* * *

**Tah-Dah!**

**So what did you guys think, eh?**

**I know, things seem to be getting worse and worse for Hermione, but don't worry this all part of my master plan...muahahahaha.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing...and for forgiving me for the late update. Everything between Draco and Hermione is still moving slow, but that's because I don't want Draco to be all fluffy. Things should be getting better for them although there will be obstacles along the way. Serena is definately taking a liking to Hermione, so at least something is going good for her. As for Ron and Ginny...well they are going to realize how wrong they were later on in the story so don't worry about them either ;-). Please let me know what you thought about this chapter and thanks for the support :-D.**

***Oh, and sorry if there's any mistakes. I just finished a load of homework and I'm tired. Thanks.**

**Hoping to hear from you guys,**

**_-Jacquesthevamp_**


	11. Happy Birthday, Malfoy

**Chapter XI- Happy Birthday, Malfoy**

**Enjoy!**

After arriving from the carnival, Malfoy had taken Serena to bed by himself because Hermione was too distressed to do it. The encounter with her friends wasn't one she had expected and so she had her guard down. The brunette witch just couldn't believe the way her friends behaved. It wasn't like them to hold a grudge against her, but then again she's never lived in Malfoy Manor.

...

Draco had made sure his daughter was sleeping, he was going to get some rest for himself but then he remembered what he had promised his daughter. She was worried about her nanny and wanted him to make sure that she was okay. So, being a sucker for Serena's big brown eyes, Draco went down stairs where granger still sat, staring at the fire...

"Granger." the blonde wizard said as he rounded the chair she was sitting on.

She looked worse than he'd thought. Her eyes were bloodshot, tears were still leaking from her eyes and her nose was red. He looked down at the hand she was still holding to her chest. She stood up and made to walk away from him, but he quickly caught her hand in his.

"Granger, stop being so stupidly stubborn." he said, annoyed.

Her knuckles were turning a shade of red and he guessed that she probably broke something. He didn't have it in him to just leave her like that, not because he care, but because she, after all, hurt herself when she punched that idiot at the carnival and it was all for Serena. So, he felt a tad responsible for it.

"Just...go away." Hermione said, trying to walk away but Malfoy held on to her and she was too tired to push him away. She was still mad at him for insulting Ron, but then again she will always be mad at him.

The brunette looked at her hand and saw that it was coloring a shade of red. Great, she really did break it and that is why it hurt like hell. Hermione looked up at Malfoy and didn't know whether to trust him. What if he made her bones disappear or worse make her whole hand disappear. No, he wouldn't dare to do that...would he? Plus, if he did Hermione would be able to reverse it. She was the smartest witch of their age, after all.

"Okay...fine." she said making her hand go limp in his. This was awkward. Malfoy was holding her hand. Ew.

It was about time that she gave in. Well, it was just a matter of time because any girl would give in to Draco Malfoy.

Draco examined Granger's hand and with a flick of his wand and muttered spell the red disappeared and...Granger smiled?

Hermione no longer felt pain and as she flexed her hand she gave Malfoy's a squeeze, reassuring herself that she still had her bones in tact. Yeah, they were there and in didn't hurt anymore.

Draco would be lying if he said that the witch's smile didn't make him feel good about himself. He felt as if he had just made a good deed...and now that he thought about it he was going soft. Yep, the war had definitely made him soft. No, that wasn't it. It had been Granger. When he had seen her so defenseless, her teary eyes and heard her pleas...that had engraved in his mind and after nine years it replayed in his mind so vividly. She had changed him that night. Draco didn't know in what way, but something had changed.

He was broken out of his train of thoughts when he felt a squeeze in his hand.

"Are you trying to break my hand now." he smirked. Apparently, he did a good job at healing her hand.

Hermione giggled...

...Wait she did not just giggle at what Malfoy said? Yes, she did, for the first time in...ever.

Hermione cleared her throat and retrieved her hand, "Thanks, Malfoy." she said, expressionless. "I'll, um, see you tomorrow." she felt awkward saying that, but it was all she could think to say and then left.

"You're welcome." Draco muttered quietly. He had been completely thrown off by Granger's giggle.

He had been the one to cause that giggle. It angered him that she had the power to make him feel things. Granger had no right to have such effect on him. This just fueled his hatred for the muggle born even more.

**oOo**

_"Help me."_

_No! Not again!_

_Hermione immediately shut her eyes, not wanting to see anything. Not this nightmare again. _

_Oh Merlin not again. _

_The brunette witch began to shiver, not because she was cold, but because she was frightened. Frightened that if it was the same dream she might fail again._

_"Help me." the voice whispered._

_This time the mysterious person's voice was just that, a whisper. That was exactly what worried Hermione the most. The voice sounded defeated...beaten._

_Slowly opening one eye, Hermione noticed that she wasn't in the dark setting she was in last time. Opening her second eye, Hermione took in the place and realized that she was in Malfoy's study._  
_Just when hermione's body began to relax there was a shrilling screaming that came from the hall outside the study room._

_ "No, no, no, no." Hermione murmured and covered her ears. She didn't want to hear the screams anymore. _

_"Help me!" the voice shrieked._

_"How?" the witch cried. She really wanted to help, but how?_

_ "Please!"_

_"I...I...just stop!" she sobbed. _

_This was just a nightmare. It wasn't real. _

_"Hermione, help!" _

_Her head snapped up at the call of her name. This person knew her. They knew her and what of she knew them? Hermione ran to the door and yanked it open. She just had to help them. _

_"Hermione!" _

_She began to run again towards the voice, but as she ran the hall grew longer and longer, narrower and narrower. When the walls graced her shoulders, Hermione began to feel suffocated, but it didn't matter because she was going to help the person one way or another. _

_"Hermione!" the voice was filled with pain, followed by utter silence._

_ Hermione fell to her knees, knowing that she had failed once again. She continued to sob while the walls grew closer and closer. The witch tried to push them away, but it was useless, then they closed on her._

_BAM!_

The bushy haired witch rapidly sat up and grasped for air. Beads of sweat dripping from her forehead onto her comforter. She ran a hand through her hair and tried relax a bit.

It was the second time she's dreamed of the pleading voice and every time she tried to put a face on it, her mind would just fail.

Hermione stood up and walked towards the window and opened it. It was cold, but the fresh air felt nice on her skin. She inhaled a gust of air but paused when she heard a sound come from the hall. She slowly made her way to the door and heard several murmured cuss words and stumbling. Her heart leaped, she knew it had to be Malfoy and he might be injured, again.

This time, Hermione didn't hesitate in opening the door and walked into the hall. She turned her head toward the source of the noise and gasped. It was Malfoy and he was injured. He didn't seem to be as badly hurt like last time, but still a mess.

"Are you just going to stand and stare, Granger!" Malfoy sneered, snapping Hermione out of analyzing him.

"Uh, no." she said, walking over to him. "What happened this time?" she asked, anchoring an arm around his waist and began to guide him to his room.

"Must you always ask questions?" he grunted.

Hermione huffed in annoyance and guided him to his room in silence. Although, she really wanted to know what exactly he did at work.

After setting him down on his bed, Hermione examined him for any deep injuries. This felt like De Javu for the witch, except for the massive blood. He had a small gash on his forehead and several bruises on his torso.

"You should really complain to your boss." Hermione commented as she gently flicked her wand at his injuries. "I mean, this has to stop." not that she cared or anything. It was just that Serena could one day see him and that could traumatize her.

"I'm not going to go begging to Potter." Malfoy spat.

"Right." hermione murmured. She had almost forgotten that Harry was head of the Auror department.

"Do...nah!" Malfoy started, his famous smirk forming on his lips.

"What?" hermione asked, nervous at the way his eyes seemed a dark gray.

"Do you honestly care about what happens to me?" his full smirk on and a raised eyebrow.

Hermione let out a nervous, but dark laugh, "You think that I care about you, right. That will be the day the dead come to life." she said, and flicked her wand once more and healed that last of the bruises.

This time Hermione didn't say the night in his room. After she got back into her bed, the Gryffindor fell asleep to a dreamless state.

**oOo**

"Nanny Granger!"

"What?" Hermione sprang up, her heart beating fast. What was going on? Was Serena okay?

"Oh, you're up." the blond child smiled at her nanny, while jumping on the bed.

Hermione let out a breath she was holding. For a minute there, she thought something bad was going on. The witch then realized that it was the first time she thought of Serena's safety instead of her own.

She looked over at the old clock in her night stand and it read; six in the morning.

"Serena, it's too early." Hermione whined and lay back down.

"Nuh-uh." the child shook her head and laid down next to her nanny. "The sun is already out."

"But it's six in the morning." then it struck Hermione; why was Serena up so early? She usually woke up at ten, not six. The child was up to something, Hermione just knew it.

"Why are you up so early?" she eyed the girl warily.

"You don't know?" Serena said, both her eyes going wide.

"Know what?"

"It's my daddy's birthday!" the blond squealed.

_Malfoy has a birthday? Of course he does. _Hermione thought.

"Then why aren't you with him?" Hermione asked, fully awake now.

"He left to work early." Serena grimaced.

Work? Hermione had thought Mafloy would stay in, since he was pretty banged up last night. She also thought it strange; wouldn't he throw a huge party in his honor?

Hermione still didn't know how Malfoy's birthday involved her, "I guess you'll have to wait until he comes home." she said, standing up and stretching.

"No." Serena giggled. "I have plans for today." she said, showing hermione a parchment tittled; Daddy's B-day.

Hermione read the list and it involved from shopping to his cake. What impressed Hermione the most was how Serena was so organized for a six year old.

"Serena, I don't have enough money to buy these things."

"Don't worry, Gramma has an account for you at Grinwotts."

"Grinwotts?" hermione asked confused.

"Yeah, where those mean goblins are at."

"Oh, you mean Gringotts." Hermione said, understanding, but then was confused once more. Why would Mrs. Malfoy give her an account? That would be like practically buying her out of the nanny deal. Or was that the plan all along?

"Yeah, that place. Now lets go!" Serena exclaimed. "This is going to be so much fun." she gushed as she left her nanny's room.

Hermione couldn't help, but grin at Serena.

**oOo**

"Where should we go first?" the child thought aloud, tapping her chin.

While Serena deliberated on where to go, Hermione still stared at the pouch in her hand, full of Galleons. It turns out that the account was set up for Serena, but Hermione could withdraw money from it since she was one of Serena's care-takers. She couldn't explain it, but she was gald that she was still Serena's nanny, but it also worried her. The number one nanny rule is; to never get attached with the child. Hermione knew that she would have to put a barrier between professionalism and emotions. She could do that...right?

"Oooh, I know, lets go get him some presents first." Serena chirped and took her nanny's hand.

After a few hours of looking for the perfect present -Serena had forced Hermione to get him one too- both nanny and charge were at Floreans's Forescues Ice cream shop.

They were in silence for a while, eating their ice cream when Serena spoke up, "Why are Ronnie and Harry mad at you?"

For a moment, Hermione didn't know who Ronnie was, but when Serena mentioned Harry she knew who the child was refering to. Ron. Hermione set down her spoon, suddenly not hungry anymore.

"Well, um...we have some unresoloved conflict." Hermione said.

It was true, but somehow it felt like a huge problem she didn't know how to solve.

"Why don't you fix it?" Serena asked with curious eyes.

It was easier said than done. Hermione wished that it was that simple but it wasn't. She's been owling them, but got no response. Even Harry had stopped answering her letters.

"It's not so easy." Hermione answered, with a sad smile.

"Why?" Serena frowned, trying to understand her nanny. Adults were so complicated.

"Because..." the brunette didn't know what else to say.

"Was it because he was mean?" the child said, referring to the night at the carnival.

"Well-"

"You should tell him to say sorry." Serena nodded, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Or." she lifted her index finger like if a brilliant idea popped into her head. "You can ask my daddy to make Ronnie say sorry." Serena smirked. Yes, that was a much better idea. Her dad was so strong and could take meanie Ronnie any time.

That made Hermione laugh. She could just imagine Ron in a headlock and Malfoy making him apologize, but that wasn't going to happen or so she hoped not. Plus, Malfoy would never stand up for her.

From then on, their conversations turned into lighter ones. Serena rambled on about how much she wanted a unicorn as a pet or a pink dragon.

They returned to Malfoy Manor and to Hermione's surprise there was still more on Serena's list.

"Wow, it's time to bake a cake for my daddy-o!" Serena squealed in delight.

"A cake?" Hermione was surprised with Serena, never having imagined a pureblood child - specially a Malfoy - to want to bake.

"Yes, Nanny Granger. What's a birthday without a cake, eh?" Serena said, like if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right." Hermione mumbled.

_This is going to be interesting_, the brunette thought as she pulled her hair back.

Three hours, two fires, and one burned cake later, Serena and Hermione finally had the perfect cake. It was the most messy, but funniest times Hermione has had at the Manor since her arrival. It shocked her how devoted Serena was to baking. She knew her way around the kitchen and wasn't scared of getting down to business. It reminded Hermione of when she was a child and the times she would bake cookies with her mum.

After making a curly Y at the end of Daddy with green icing, Serena clapped her hands in delight. "Yay! It's perfect!" she smiled at her nanny, showing her pearly whites.

Hermione's heart did a somersault, it was the brightest smile Serena has given her. She couldn't help, but smile back.

"Come on, Nanny, we have to hurry." Serena suddenly said.

"For what?"

"For the last thing on my list." the child giggled.

Oh no, there was more?

**oOo**

"Let me help you with that."

"I got it."

"What if you drop it?"

"I'm no going to drop it, Nanny Granger." the child said, irritated.

It was the thousands time the nanny offered to help her carry the cake. She was a big girl and she could carry the cake without dropping it all by herself. Plus, Serena wasn't about to drop something she made specially for her Daddy.

Hermione gave up asking and settled for holding the presents. They were currently on the lift to Malfoy's office. She felt a bit odd going into the Auror's floor with a dress on. Yes, a dress. Serena had insisted on dressing "pretty" for the occasion. So, after a full five minutes of enduring Serena's cute batting eyes, Hermione gave in and decided on wearing a white sundress and some flats. Serena suited a white dress as well, but with pink flowers on it, and her trademark red ribbon on her hair.

_"Ding!"_

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the lift's bell, announcing their arrival. Serena was the first step off. Having no clue as to where Malfoy's office was, Hermione just followed the child, whom seemed to know where she was going.

Everything was going well until two voices caught her attention and very soon she saw them. Harry and Ron were laughing – apparently at something funny Ron had said – but their expressions turned sour when they saw Hermione. She froze on her tracks and felt as if time had stopped. She wanted to run up to them and hug them, but she knew that they wouldn't be so welcoming.

Serena stopped right in front of her dad's office, but then saw Nanny Granger freeze like a statue. She turned to see what her nanny was so busy staring at and then frowned. It was Ronnie and Harry.

"Nanny Granger?" Serena whispered she could tell her nanny was sad again and it was all thanks to weasel and scarhead.

Serena carefully set down the blue box that contained the cake, on the floor and made her way towards to two bafoons. She stretched her neck to meet Ronnie's eyes and put her hands on her waist.

"You are really mean." she reprimanded.

It was about time someone told him that, too.

Ron gave Harry an amused grin, but it was soon replaced by a yelp of pain as Serena kicked him with all the force a six year old girl had. She turned to Harry and stuck out her tongue at him, "You too, a pair of meanies!"

"Serena!" Hermione screeched, being brought of her daze by Ron's scream.

"Don't worry, Nanny Granger, they won't mess with you again." Serena chirped as she happily skipped back to her nanny and picked up the box. A triumphant smile on her face.

Hermione wasn't sure if to apologize for the child's behavior or appraise her for standing up for her. Not wanting to ruin Serena's good mood, Hermione tore her eyes away from Harry and Ron and towards the door that had "Draco Malfoy" on it.

"Thanks." she smiled down at the child, although her heart ached with wanting to go help Ron.

Serena nodded and opened to door to her dad's office without knocking.

"Don't you know how to -"

"SURPRISE!" Serena yelled as loud as she could, interrupting Draco's sentence.

For a moment there, he thought that it was Potter or Weasley entering his office without permission.

"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Serena squealed as she threw herself in the arms of her dear dad.

Hermione placed the cake on the table after the child handed it to her, and smiled. It was odd standing there and witnessing a human being loved Malfoy. That thought almost made her vomit, but somehow, it made her feel all...warm inside.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare, Granger." Malfoy smirked.

Hermione frowned, another moment he ruined by his stupid remarks.

"What? You want me to hug you, too?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! That would be really nice." Serena clapped her hands.

"Wait...no." Hermione said, backing away.

She was just joking and didn't actually mean it.

"It's his birthday, Nanny Granger and birthday people get hugs." the child said, rolling her eyes. Man, her nanny was dumb.

"It's okay if she stays over there, Darling." Draco said.

There was no way he was going to let the muggleborn touch him again. Why couldn't Granger keep her trap shut?

"Come on, Nanny." the child whined and batted her eyes. Knowing very well that, that was her nanny's weakness.

"Fine." Hermione muttered and made her way towards Malfoy.

She slowly wrapped her arms around him and cringed when he did the same. This time it felt different, though. Smoother, more gentle than last time. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably and her skin tingled. She's never felt that way before. Was it normal? Maybe it was her body trying to regect Malfoy's touch. Time seemed to pass by like an eternity, but she didn't mind. Not one bit.

Before parting, Hermione stood on the tip of her toes, her lips next to his ear and whispered, "Happy birthday, Malfoy."

The brunette didn't know why she did that, it was more like an impulse. Not, even daring to see Malfoy's expression she acted as if nothing had happened and went to take the cake out of the box. The sooner this strange day was over, the better.

"Okay, Daddy, now make a wish and blow as hard as you can." Serena instructed, after her nanny lit the candles with her wand.

Hermione stood back and felt as if somehow this was significant, but she reasoned that it's probably because of the bond between her and Serena. Since, it was a significant day for the child maybe that is why she felt the same way. All of the sudden she felt a cold shudder evaded her. The last few times she's felt that was before she was hired as Serena's nanny and before she was confronted by Mr. Malfoy and his hatred toward her. Weird.

"Yay!" Serena laughed after Malfoy had blown all the candles. "Cake time!"

Hermione softly laughed and conjured some plates and spoons. After cutting a piece for each one of them, Serena was gushing about how excited she was of showing her dad the present she got him.

Right then the door opened and elegant voice rang, "A celebration and I wasn't invited to my fiances birthday party?"

* * *

O_o

OMG! Fiance? What?

Hehe! I apologize for not updating in ages. I've been terribly busy with school and saving up for a new computer. My last laptop died peacefully, but I have recently adopted a new one...and I love it! Anyway, enough of my laptop situation. This chapter did not turn out like I wanted it to, BUT it leads to an event that I can't wait to write up. A lot of things are about to arise and Hermione better be ready for it, haha.

Also, sorry if there are any mistakes, it's really late and I should be sleeping, but I just needed to post this. And, remember, this is just for my entertainment. I'm not a professional writer or anything close to it. I just love the idea of Dramione.

What do you guys think is going to happen, eh?

OH!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!


	12. A Day Off

**Hi everyone!**

**No words can explain how SORRY I am for taking this long to update. (_) Life tends to get in the way. Question: Have any of you had writter's block because of a broken heart?...Yeah, kind of stupid huh, but whatever. I finally managed to write this chapter. It might not be what you guys expected, but bare with me, k? Things are going to start to progress from here. It is also very late here, so if there are any mistakes, sorry!**

**One more thing; TPN has more than 200 reviews! Thank you all SO much! I never imagined getting so many. It so made my day and now I'm smiling like a idiot at my laptop. Oh well, I don't care, hahaha!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12 – A Day Off**

Malfoy's office went from a happy ambient to a silent and dreary one. The wizard's face resembled that of a person being _Stupefied_. He clearly hadn't expected the woman's appearance. The woman was a tad taller than Hermione, with long blonde hair and the most piercing blue eyes she's encountered. Her apparel hugged her body, showing off her figure and long legs. She was like one of the women in _The Witch Weekly_. She was just beautiful that it made Hermione feel inferior to her looks, not that she cared. Smarts over looks was better any day.

The woman gave a laugh, that in Hermione's ears sounded like playing harp. "I see I have once again stunned my audience." she said as she flowed towards Malfoy. "Happy birthday, Love," she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The next thing Hermione knew the woman was devouring Malfoy. Literally. She unintentionally gasped, not having expecting that. What was she doing? Something began to bubble inside Hermione at the sight of the blonde witch making out with Malfoy in plain sight. Right then, the words the woman had said resounded in Hermione's ears. _Fiancé_. Malfoy had a girlfriend and she didn't know? Why didn't the stupid git tell her? Why didn't anyone tell her things these days?

Out of nowhere, something flew in front of Hermione's face that she didn't even catch what it was until it had splattered on the back of Malfoy's fiance's head.

"Stay away from my Daddy!" shouted Serena, at the same time the woman gave a shriek.

Hermione would have laughed if it wasn't for the other woman freaking out as if a Bowtruckle had attacked her.

"What the hell?" Malfoy's girlfriend yelled and glared at the child. "That's not very nice of you, _Serena_. Draco, punish her!"

_Who did this woman think she was?_ Hermione stepped in front of Serena and said, "She's just a child."

"Yes, and bad children deserve bad consequences." she sneered, not lifting her glare off Serena.

"I'm certain she didn't mean it, Fiona." Malfoy spoke up and placed his hands on the angry woman's shoulders.

"Nuh- uh! I did mean it. She needs to stay away from you, Daddy!" Serena hollered from behind her nanny. "She's evil!"

"Serena, don't be rude." Draco reprimanded. Why was his daughter acting so obnoxious? It had to be Granger's influence on her. _Damn Granger!_

Then another slice of cake flew across the room and hit Fiona straight on her face.

"Draco!" she screeched and stomped her foot.

"Serena!" both Hermione and Malfoy scolded, but the child didn't listen.

With both of her small hands, Serena grabbed two fists full of cake and threw them at Fiona.

"Stay away from my daddy!" she raged.

Hermione ran towards the child and tried carrying her away from her weapon, the cake.

"Serena, stop." she said, firmly.

"Let me go! You have to get her away from him, Nanny Granger!" at this point the young girl was hysterical.

As Hermione tried to hold back Serena, she gave Malfoy a death glare. Why wasn't he doing anything? But, she said nothing as Fiona walked towards Malfoy with the saddest of faces and placed her head on his chest.

"I don't understand why your Serena doesn't like me." she sniffed. "She's never behaved that way before."

"Daddy, tell her to go away...please!"

At Serena's last words, Hermione's heart dropped. It's as if she's heard that same plea, but where? It strangely rang in her ears, but aside from that, she had to get Serena out of there, she was what mattered at the moment. The child was obviously hurting by seeing _Fiona_ display her affections for Malfoy.

"Serena! I don't know why you're behaving like this, but you better stop!" Draco raised his voice. His own daughter was acting like a lunatic. He didn't know what to do and only wished that this was all not happening. He wished that it was only Serena, Granger and him...Wait! No! Serena, Fiona and him. His thoughts were clearly being disturbed by his daughter's behavior.

"Come on, Serena." Hermione said, getting a firm hold on the girl. "I think you need a nap."

She grabbed her wand and _Disapparated_. She didn't want the child to hurt anymore than she already was, especially if her so called father was just going to stand there and do nothing to calm her down.

••••••••

A slight frown graced the forehead of the brunette witch, as she rocked herself back and forth on the rocking chair in Serena's room. She glanced at the child, whom was peacefully sleeping on a bed too big for her. Hermione was still mulling over why Serena had acted the way she had. It was just so...hysterical. The young girl seemed desperate to get Malfoy's fiancé away from him. It was probably because he was going to marry the woman and Serena didn't want another mum, but, for a strange reason Hermione didn't think that was it.

That wasn't all that worried her. What put her brain on overdrive was how she had felt when Fiona was snogging Malfoy. She blamed that on Serena. Not technically on the child, but on the bond. It appeared that their bond was getting stronger through the bracelets and Hermione's emotions might have been triggered by Serena's anger towards Fiona. Or so, she hoped.

The door to Serena's room slowly opened and Hermione stood up when she saw the platinum blonde hair. She was still mad at Malfoy, feeling like a fool for actually believing that he was capable of putting aside his needs for someone else. She was wrong. He only cared about his image in society. Nothing of him had changed, he's still the same arrogant prat she knew from Hogwarts. Not even his own child changed him. This, Hermione didn't believe. Serena _had_ to change Malfoy in some way, but Hermione stopped her thoughts there because she knew that it wasn't true.

"How is she doing?" he asked.

_How is she doing?_ Now, he cares. Now, that Fiona wasn't around to smother him. Hermione wanted to yell at him and express how furious she was, but refrained. It would do no good, she might wake Serena up and Malfoy will just shrug it off like always.

"How do you think she's doing?" she glared and walked out of the room before she gave into temptation and hexed his ass off.

She was almost to her room when she heard Serena's room door open and close. Great, what did he want now?

"What is your problem?" his cold voice came from behind her.

"You!" she exclaimed, swirling around to face him. "You and your stupid attitude!"

Draco raised an eyebrow as if saying 'so what'. "Hasn't that been the case between us since the beginning, Granger?" Really, the witch was finally losing her mind.

"It's not about me, Malfoy." Hermione said, lowering her voice. "It's about...Serena."

_Oh._ Draco thought Granger was just being delirious and irrational. His mind wandered back to what happened in his office with Serena and Fiona.

Fiona, his girlfriend of one year and now fiancé. He met the beautiful blonde two years ago when he went to Paris, France for business. At first, not even her beauty attracted him, but with time she grew on him and she seemed to like children, which was a plus because of Serena. When they began dating his father was proud of him. Fiona was a Pure-blood witch and comes from a very influential family in Paris, which only fueled his father's encouragement. Draco had asked his mother if going back into the dating world was a right decision for him and Serena and she told him that as long as the woman he chose was willing to welcome Serena with open arms then there should be no problem. And Fiona welcomed the idea of Draco being a single parent. That's what he liked about her, not only did she have extraordinary beauty, but she didn't mind his daughter at all. This engagement is what he wanted. Soon, Serena will have a motherly figure to look up to – although she'll never replace Astoria – and they'll be a family. In Draco's mind, that's the only thing that mattered. For Serena to have a family.

"I knew it," Granger hissed, breaking Draco from his thoughts. "You only care about yourself."

"What?" he answered, confused. Granger might have taken him thinking as stalling. Like always, jumping into conclusions that her logically, narrow mind led her to. "You're wrong. Why is it that you think you know everything?" he said, raising his voice.

"Because I know you, Malfoy!" she quickly answered. "You only care about yourself!"

Draco clenched his fists. "You're wrong." he said, his eyes set in stone. "You don't know who I've become. Yes, I was a git when I was younger and I can still be at times, but you don't know me Granger." he took slow steps towards her until her back was pressed against the wall.

Trapping her by placing both hands on either side of her head, Draco leaned in so there were only centimeters between them. He wanted her to shut up for once and listen to him, but he quickly regretted his actions. He was too close to her. So close that he could see that Granger's brown orbs still held the same defiance they did years ago. She was still a know-at-all and still spoke her mind, but there was something that Draco saw now that he didn't see all those years ago. As much as he hated to admit it, Granger was kind. Here she was, angry at _him_ for what she thought was unfair treatment, to _his_ daughter. He could have laughed at that, but the way that her heaving chest slightly brushed against his, made Draco realize how he's missed the warmth of woman. He had Fiona, but all she wanted to do was snog.

He felt the temperature rise and his whole body...alive. It was a sensation he hadn't felt for years. But, what baffled him was that just a minute ago he was angry at Granger and now she was causing him to feel things. Things he wasn't ready for. Things that were impossible for many reasons. Slowly, trying not to disturb the peace that had ensued for the first time between them, Draco took several steps away from the brunette.

"You don't know me," he whispered and left.

Hermione had to put a hand on her chest, as if trying to slow down her heart rate. He had been so close to her, that Hermione thought he might have kissed her. It was a redundant thing to think, especially when it involved Malfoy, but they were so close. The way his gray eyes focused on her brown ones. The way his chest was so close to hers. The way his breath tingled her cheek. It all made her body react like it has never reacted before. It was like it was only the two of them in the world. There was no prejudice, no anger, no hate but part of Hermione kept reminding her that all those things did exist. She felt like a fool for thinking he would kiss her.

••••••••••

Three very uneventful days passed. Hermione had just gotten ready for the day when she heard a scrapping noise come from the window. She hurried her way there, but was disappointed to see a _Daily Prophet_ owl waiting for her. She had really hoped it was Harry's or Ron's but no such luck. Apparently, they were still protesting her stay at the Manor. Hermione took the _Prophet_ and scanned it with no special interest until her eyes landed on a bold title that read, _**Aurors Appreciation Night Ball**_. Harry and Ron would definitely be there. Hermione began planning on how to go and try to get them to forgive her. With her mind working as fast as ever, she made her way downstairs for breakfast.

"Nanny Granger, Daddy is taking me to work with him today," Serena said, smiling, as they almost finished their meal.

"Really?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow at Malfoy. It was odd that he was taking his daughter to work. Especially, if he was doing field work. "Don't you think it's a bit dangerous?" she said.

"She's not going to be chasing Death Eaters all day, Granger," Draco said from behind the _Prophet_. Since his birthday, Draco hasn't met Granger eye to eye. He either hid behind his news paper or directed his attention elsewhere. Draco felt odd after their closure the other day and refused to risk the same from happening. "It means you get the day off," he added.

"A day off?" Hermione hasn't had a day off since she started. "As long as Serena is safe, it's okay," she said, smiling at the child.

"It wasn't for you to decide," Draco said, standing up and neatly folding the paper. "It's time to go, Darling," he grinned at Serena.

After both Malfoys had left, Hermione found herself wandering the Manor. She would open some doors occasionally and then continue her quest. She managed to find the library and was awed by all the books they had; from childrens' nursery rhymes to encyclopedias. As interesting as it all was, Hermione ended up in Malfoy's study. She didn't know why that part of the Manor held her interest; maybe it had to do that in her last nightmare she was there.

Her brown eyes landed on the family portrait and all she could think of was how happy all three were. Hermione remembered reading something about Astoria being in a horrible lab explosion, but never had she imagined to be taking care of her child years later. From the painting, Hermione could tell that Astoria was a beautiful woman, more than Fiona. All of the sudden, she found herself comparing her attributes to both of Malfoy's women.

"She has her mother's eyes," came the voice of Narcissa. "Serena."

Hermione turned around, a bit startled, but slightly grinned. The older witch came to stand next to her, but still faced the portrait with sad eyes.

"She does," Hermione agreed, "but the rest is Malfoy's...Draco." she corrected herself, feeling awkward when she said his first name.

"She reminds me a lot of when my son was younger. So mischievous and curious," Narcissa said, her red lips forming a smile. "You know, Draco grew up in a different time than she did. There was lots more prejudice back then, too."

Hermione felt as if Mrs. Malfoy was trying to tell her something, but was stalling. So, she nodded.

"Every belief and value were thrown at him because he's the only Malfoy heir, but," she turned to Hermione and smiled, "he wasn't always like that. He was sweet and respectful." Narcissa said, her eyes gleaming.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Lucius went with the wrong crowd," she said, a small scowl forming on her perfect features. "He made wrong decisions and my poor Draco had to pay for it," Narcissa's voice dripped with bitterness.

Hermione knew Mr. Malfoy was a Death Eater, but the way Mrs. Malfoy was speaking to her it was as if everything was just dropped on Malfoy's shoulders without him agreeing to any of it. She didn't know what to say.

"Anyway," Narcissa gently shook her head, as if trying to forget old memories. "Draco has grown to be a different man than his father." she said this with pride shinning on her eyes. "He wouldn't dare put Serena in the same situation he was, he cares too much for his child. Sometimes, I wish I had been stronger, like him." she smiled.

This hit Hermione like a bludger in the stomach. Mrs. Malfoy spoke of Malfoy as a human being, as a father who cares for his child and would do anything for them. Something, that Hermione had not believed three days ago. She believed what Mrs. Malfoy was telling her, if they were lies why would she even tell her, Hermione Granger? Then guilt slithered it's way in to Hermione. She had practically shouted in his face that he didn't care for Serena. This was great, she owed him an apology.

After that, Mrs. Malfoy briefly chatted with Hermione about her stay at the manor, then both parted ways. What the older which said had stuck with Hermione and for the rest of the day she plotted on how to apologize to Malfoy.

••••••••••

Hermione paced in front of the living room fire place. Stopping everything she had come up with a nice apology, but then shaking her head and dismissing it because it wasn't good enough and kept the cycle going for an hour. She didn't know why this was so hard. It only involved a simple five letter word that would get the job done, but saying sorry to Malfoy felt like she was giving up something. She couldn't place her finger on it, but it didn't feel right, although she knew she had judged Malfoy wrong. But, what if Mrs. Malfoy was just saying those things so Hermione could feel bad for her son? She didn't know that woman, so clearly she didn't trust her, but the way Narcissa smiled at the end held no ill feelings, it was sincere.

Hermione huffed and ran a hand through her hair. She was just going to get it over with when Malfoy arrived. Fast and simple.

Best way to do it.

As if he had read her mind, Malfoy entered the house with a sleeping child in his arms. The sight almost made Hermione let out a dreamy sigh. Serena was cradled in his arms and looked tinier than ever as Malfoy hugged her to him, almost like if he was trying to hide her small form from the world with his arms. It was a sight that Hermione would have never imagined when she was at Hogwarts.

"What are you looking at, Granger?" he asked, walking pass by her.

Hermione shook her head and felt her cheeks burn. She had been caught staring, again. "Uh, we need to talk," she blurted, ignoring his stupid question.

Malfoy stopped, turning to her and raised an eyebrow. "Are you breaking up with me," he mocked.

Hermione gasped and frowned. Did he have to make a joke out of everything? It was going to take a lot of patience to apologize to Malfoy. Well, that was if she didn't curse him first.

"Don't fret, Granger," he laughed. He liked the way his words irritated her. She was too predictable. "Meet me in my office in five," and with that he climbed the stairs and disappeared into a hall.

* * *

**So...what do you guys think?**

**The next chapter might be in Serena's POV about her day at work with her Daddy...not sure yet. **

**So, I don't know if any of you have noticed...but I changed my username to Jaquestheninja...Yeah, 'cause I'm sneaky like that, hahaha. I also have a Twitter account for if you guys want to swing by and say hi once in a while Jacquestheninja ) and tell me so I can follow you back, k? **

**Please, only if you want, hit that review button and make me happy my little ninjas. (Yes, I'll be refering to my readers as ninjas.) ^_***

**Peace, love & Draco,**

**-Jacquestheninja **


	13. Death Eaters

**Chapter 13 – Death Eaters**

The Ministry of Magic wasn't a foreign place for the six year old, in fact, Serena was extremely familiar with it. It was a usual trip or more like a monthly tradition her Dad came up with since her mom passed away. It was a day Serena greatly anticipated. Even though she was happy to be spending an entire day with Draco, she wished she could do what he does; chase bad people and send them to Azkaban. It was one of her one billion dreams; to zap those meanies real hard.

Just as they entered the golden gates, Serena was greeted by people she did and didn't know. Draco once told her that she was even more popular than him at the Ministry of Magic. Of course, she's noticed that. There were some that would act if her dad wasn't' there with her and it was just her by herself. Then there were others that looked almost as if they were scared to be near him. She finalized that it was because he was a Malfoy. Like her Granddad has always told her; people were jealous of them.

Finally, stepping into the elevator and away from the crows, Serena let out a breath. She sometimes felt that she would get lost in the crowd and get separated from her daddy. What was worse was that someone would kidnap her and feed her carrots forever. Now that was scary thought for the child.

"Are we going to chase any mean people today, Daddy?" she asked, her big brown eyes staring up at Draco.

Draco smiled and contained his laughter. "Not today, Darling," he said, then fixed her bow on her head, so that it was centered instead of lopsided.

"Why'd you do that for?" Serena asked, slightly frowning and fixing her bow the way it was before. Why was her daddy messing with her hair?

"Because, it looks better this way," he said, fixing it his way again.

Serena huffed, but then smirked a smirk that mirrored her dad's. "Well, the way Nanny Granger does it looks prettier," she giggled and tilted the bow.

Draco looked taken aback for a second. For as long as Serena could remember, her dad has always tied her bow, but it was time for a little change. He was just going to have to get used to being replaced by Nanny Granger on bow duties.

"And you listen to _her_?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow as if challenging his daughter to say otherwise.

"Yep," Serena nodded. "She's a girl, so she knows what's prettier and what's not," she smiled and crossed her arms across her chest; challenging her dad in return.

"Fine," Draco frowned, shook his head, but then smiled. He didn't have a counter argument and this greatly pleased the child.

•••••••••••••

A few hours later, Serena sat in front of her Dad's desk, while he revised some documents. She was entertained by her coloring book with her crayons that were charmed to sparkle. When she was done coloring the pink dragon image, it began to flap its wings to fly. She loved her charmed coloring book Grandma and Grandpa had given her when they returned from Germany.

She looked up and peered around the room. There was a leather couch at the opposite side of Draco's desk – he had it installed there for when Serena ever wanted to nap. Diagonally from it there was a fireplace that resembled the one at home, with the exception of family pictures. Across from that there was a cabinet that held her Dad's documents, except for the very last drawer. That was her's, where all her dolls and coloring accessories were. It was even labeled, _Serena's Stuff_ and with small letters under it that read, _Keep Out...except Daddy_, in her squiggly hand writing.

"Dad?" she said, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Yes?" he answered, placing the quill he was writing with down and giving her his undivided attention.

"Can we go catch mean people, now?" she said, making a pouting face.

She really wanted to go out and help her Dad catch people that hurt others. She really admired him for that. For being brave enough to go out and help the defenseless. Serena even knew what she wanted to be when she grew up; an Auror. It would be a dream come true to go out and capture bad people with a brave and strong man; her dad.

Also, as far as the day has gone she's behaved well and hasn't gone into Harry's or Ron's office to prank them. She's been a good girl and that meant she deserved a reward and she chose to chase bad guys and zap them.

_Zap! Zap!_

"Serena," Draco sighed, but didn't speak any further when the door opened.

"Malfoy!" came in the annoying voice of Ron Weasley.

Draco grumbled something incoherent to Serena's ears and stood up. "What do you want?" he said, rolling the piece of parchment he had been writing on.

"Get your a-" Ron stopped mid-sentence when Serena stood up in her chair with her hands on her hips. "Get over here!" he demanded.

"Don't yell at him!" Serena reprimanded, mimicking the way her Grandma scolded her Grandfather whenever he said something she didn't approve of.

Ron opened his mouth and then closed it. Serena knew he wouldn't dare say anything to her while her Daddy was present. Instead, he chose to ignore her and speak to Draco.

"The thief has struck again," he said, eying Serena carefully. "This time at Gringotts."

Serena's eyes grew wide with excitement. This was it. This was the moment where she would get her shot at chasing thieves.

"Daddy, can I go?" she jumped excitedly on the chair.

Ron made a snorting sound, but Serena ignored him.

"Not now," Draco answered in an even voice.

He helped her off the chair and walked out of his office. They sauntered over to the welcoming area where a large, round desk sat in the center of the lobby. A frizzy, blond haired woman sat behind the desk. Serena smiled when she saw her. Kellie, the welcoming host, was one of her favorite people at the Ministry of Magic; she always had sweets with her.

"Kellie!" the girl greeted with a high wave. The desk was higher than her, so she had to make her presence noticed one way or another.

"Oh Merlin! It can't be," she heard the woman say as she peaked over the desk. "It is! Serena."

"The one and only," she said, smirking.

"Kellie could you look after James, please." Harry Potter entered the lobby with his six year old boy. He didn't look at all happy, and Serena then noticed that all the adults were serious. "Now, you behave, okay?" he said, ruffling his son's hair while James smiled and nodded at his dad.

"Listen to what Kellie says, alright," Draco said. He smoothed Serena's hair causing her to giggle. "I'll see you in a bit." He kissed her cheek and left after the other two men.

"Okay children," Kellie said, standing up and walking over to them. "I have papers to sort, so her you go." She placed a tray with a bowl of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk. Smiling, she walked off to her desk and began her work.

"Hi," James grinned, scooting closer to Serena.

"Hello" the girl answered shortly, raising an eyebrow.

She always thought of James as a weird boy. He was always talking, but what made him strange was that he was Harry Potter's kid. Draco once told Serena that the poor kid had inherited his father's brains, that or he must have been dropped when he was a baby. There was seriously something wrong with boy in the head.

"That goo dungbomb you left at my house was cool, although my dad and uncle got mad." James said as his small hand reached for a cookie.

"They deserved it. They were being mean to my nanny." Serena huffed.

She didn't much like her nanny, but then she didn't like mean people either. What bugged her the most was that it was _her_ nanny they were picking on. No one messed with her stuff...or people in this case.

"They were? Why?" James' question almost made Serena slap him silly.

She looked at him incredulously and shook her head. Her daddy was right. James Potter was wrong in the head. "Don't you remember? They were yelling at her and making mean faces," she explained.

"But they always argue. Especially when it comes to Quidditch and school," he reasoned, taking a big bite from his treat.

"But they made her cry," she whined. Didn't this boy get it, when someone made another person cry that made them mean people.

"They did? Why?" James asked, chewing loudly.

Serena frowned at James. He wasn't taking this seriously and it only frustrated her. Nanny Granger was a nice nanny. She didn't feed her carrots, or yell at her, or call her names. No. Nanny Granger was nice. She combed Serena's hair, did her bow the way she liked it, and even helped her with her Dad's birthday cake. The realization made the blond girl's frown deepen. Her nanny was nice while she's been bad to her.

"I don't know," Serena answered. She didn't know why Harry or Ron were being mean to her and she didn't know why she just thought nice thoughts of her nanny.

"That is strange. Dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are best friends." James said, pursing his lips in confusion.

"That's even worse. Best friends don't do that to each other. Like I told you, they are mean." Serena concluded.

"Nuh-uh," James said, frowning. "My dad's a hero. Did you know he saved everyone from a very evil wizard." James's frowned disappeared as a smile spread across his face. He grabbed another cookie and dipped it in the milk.

Serena raised an eyebrow at him. It was impossible. His dad could not have been a hero. He was dumb and was missing part of his brain, that's how he got that weird scar on his forehead, that was a fact according to her dad.

"He did, he really did." James said, nodding his head so fast Serena thought it might unscrew from his neck and roll on to the ground. "I don't know the evil wizard's name, but my Uncle Ron said that his followers were called Death Eaters and that him, my dad and Aunt Hermione beat them all."

"D-Death Eaters?" Serena repeated. What? She's never heard that name before. Did they eat death?

"Yeah, and the wore skull masks and black robes." James said. His voice held a sort of excitement behind it.

"What did they do?" Serena said, wanting to know more.

"They helped the dark wizard kill people."

"What else?" Serena said.

"That's everything Uncle Ron told me. Mum doesn't like him telling me stories about the war..." James said with a bit of disappointment. "Plus, it doesn't matter 'cause our dad's are hunting them down."

"T-They are? I thought they only went after mean wizards." Serena said, trying not to believe what James was saying. Death Eaters sounded like horrible people and she never wanted to meet one.

"They do. Death Eaters are the meanest wizards of all time." James said, with a tone of utmost admiration, almost like if he was proud what their dads did.

Serena felt her stomach tighten. She doubted it was the cookies that made her feel like that. The idea of her daddy fighting these Death Eaters made cold fear make its way to her. What if the person that broke into Gringotts was a Death Eater and her Daddy was out there right now confronting them?

* * *

**Hey my ninjas! **

**Sorry for my lateness. RL has been unpredictable. **

**I hope you guys like this chapter. Oh, and yes, Serena does not know that her dad was a Death Eater...yeah, I know right. What do my ninjas think will happen next, eh?**

**See yah later,**

**Jacquestheninja 3**


	14. Chocolate Ice Cream

**I bring you another chapter to TPN. Important Author's Note at the end. **

**Enjoy!**

Three days passed since the dreadful night Hermione apologized to Malfoy. He had taunted her and made her repeat her apology more than once using his "bad" hearing as an excuse. She knew his ears could hear perfectly fine, and even then she didn't know why she kept playing along. Since that day they hardly spoke; only if it was necessary and about Serena, but that was it. Malfoy was also busy at the Auror office. Apparently the French, Bulgarian and Irish Ministries of Magic had been breached. Hermione had read about those incidents on the _Daily Prophet_ but apparently nothing had been taken. Now, the British Ministry of Magic was high on alert and Aurors were on all floors, twenty-four hours a day.

Hermione wondered how Harry and Ron were holding up. She was even tempted to write to them but most likely they'd ignore her letter.

She placed the book was supposed to be reading when she realized that the manor was much too quiet. That meant two things: Serena was up to something or had already done something and was hiding. Hermione groaned as she stood up and walked to Serena's room. When she entered she was invaded by the same silence. Hermione didn't like this. Serena was a loud child. Silence wasn't part of her agenda.

"Serena," she called, picking up several toys as she walked in. "Serena, come out now. I'm not playing," she said, warningly.

At the corner of her eye, Hermione saw something shifting in the closet then out came the blond child with a pink box in her hands. It was labeled with wide, sparkly letters that said, SHOES, and she watched as the young girl piled the box on top of several boxes that were at the glass doors that led to a balcony. It was almost as if she was building a wall.

"Serena, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, slowly. This was Malfoy's child after all so she must of have inherited some of his crazy ideas.

"I'm blocking the doors," Serena said, ignoring Hermione's presence and walking back into the closet. After a while she came out dragging an even bigger box. "I don't want Death Eaters to come into my room at night and hurt Daddy and me." Serena stopped and finally faced Hermione, tears threatening to spill over her delicate features. "Will you help me block my door?" she asked in small voice that made Hermione want to run to her and hug her so tight no one would be able to hurt her.

Of course, that would be unprofessional and Malfoy wouldn't appreciate it if she restricted him from his own daughter.

Then Hermione took into account what the child had just said; Death Eaters. She was one-hundred percent sure that Serena wasn't supposed to know anything about them. Had Malfoy reconsidered and told her his family's entire truth? She doubted that. "What do you know about Death Eaters," she asked, kneeling in front the young girl and taking her small hand into her's.

Serena sniffed and wiped her eyes with her free hand. Hermione was surprised she didn't pull away from her. "That they're evil and mean...and hurt people," she said. Hermione could tell there was deeper meaning to this since it was obviously distressing the child so much. "I don't want Daddy to get hurt, Nanny Granger...I'm scared."

Hermione stood up and pushed away whatever professional manners she had to keep in front of the child. She picked Serena into her arms and allowed her to cry at the crook of her neck. She held on tight, hoping that would ease the girl's fear, but as Serena tightened her arms around Hermione, she guessed it was going to take more than a hug to make her feel safe.

"You know what," she said, brushing Serena's blond curls away from her face. "I know a spell that will protect you from dark magic." At this, Serena peeked up from under Hermione's neck and blinked rapidly as if waiting for her to continue. "You see, Death Eaters use dark magic and this spell I know will protect you and your dad."

"Really? You can do that?" Serena asked as her eyes widened in disbelief.

There was a spell that acted as a ward and prohibited the use of dark magic in a certain location, but it wouldn't hold back Death Eaters, unfortunately. Of course, she greatly doubted they would be making an appearance here when the Manor's own wards were strong enough to hold back an army of the lot.

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "Would you like me to do it, here?"

"Yes, Nanny Granger!" Serena beamed, wiping off the remainder of her tears with her small hands. She squirmed in Hermione's hold until she was set down, and took hold of the nanny's hand. "Let's start here," she said, dragging Hermione to the bathroom. The brunette performed the wand movement and incantation and allowed herself to be dragged once more. "Now here, and there...and there too!"

At the end, Hermione had cast the charm on Serena's glass doors, closet, under her bed, Malfoy's room, under Malfoy's bed, Malfoy's closet and bathroom and finally – what made Hermione's heart swell with joy – Serena demanded her to cast the spell in her own room because quote, "she needed her nanny alive". When all the casting had been done and Serena was convinced that no Death Eaters would harm her or her dad they finally made their way to the kitchens. Malfoy had not made it home for dinner, so Hermione and Serena retrieved some snacks and were sat at the dining table eating chocolate ice cream with wafer straws.

"You have to promise me you won't tell your dad I fed you ice cream for dinner," Hermione said, scooping up some of the chocolaty wonder with her spoon.

"I won't say anything if you don't tell him I had ice cream for dinner," Serena countered, smirking with a mustache of ice cream on her top lip. Hermione could tell she was a messy ice cream eater, but instead of having the inclination to tell her to clean up like she would with Ron, she found it adorable.

She was about to agree when the dinning hall doors opened, followed by a tired drawl. "Who wasn't going to tell me what?" Malfoy walked over to their side of the table and raised an eyebrow as both girls stared at him with wide eyes knowing they had been caught. "I'm waiting," he said.

"Um, well," Serena dragged out her words and looked over at Hermione as if telling her to answer instead.

"It's no big deal, really," Hermione began, setting her spoon down, "instead of eating proper dinner...we're eating ice cream." She was ready for Malfoy's lecture about how a healthy dinner was important for a six year old, but it never came. Instead he sat down across from Hermione and Serena and ran his hand over his blond hair making it messy. He seemed tired. "Would you like some?"

To her surprise, he nodded his head and took off his cloak. An arrogant smart mouth Malfoy she was used to, but a placid one...she didn't know how to treat. It was almost as if she was interacting with a stranger. Hermione Granger didn't do well with strangers.

After an elf appeared with a bowl of chocolate ice cream for Malfoy they were left in silence. It wasn't a bad silence, Hermione thought. For the first time, it was kind of nice. Eating ice cream with the Malfoys, who would have thought.

"You're not mad at us, Daddy, are you?" Serena said, breaking the silence. She was poking at the small mountain of ice cream with her spoon with worried expression on her face.

Malfoy looked up from his bowl and grinned at his daughter. It was the only kind of grin that Serena could make him produce; one that was tender, yet it still had a Malfoy glint to it. "It's all right," he said and then shifted his gaze to Hermione. "But next time I expect your nanny to at least feed you some vegetables." He looked at her pointedly as if making a point and Hermione nodded.

She _should_ have had Serena eat a proper dinner but the ice cream seemed a lot more appetizing than anything else. After a while, Serena had finished her snack and ran to the kitchen to demand elves for a second serving in which Malfoy gave a groan but didn't protest.

Hermione looked up from her bowl and quickly covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Malfoy had the same chocolate mustache on his upper lip like Serena did, except the sight of this on a grown man wasn't adorable, it was amusing.

"What?" he frowned.

"You," she laughed deliberately and picked up her napkin. "You have something...here," she said, gently dabbing the napkin over the top of his lip.

Hermione had not noticed she was leaning across the table and was very close to Malfoy's face. From that proximity she could make out dark half moons under his eyes. His eyes. They were a soft gray like swirling liquid steel. She didn't know why his eyes seem to fascinate her right now, but she couldn't quite look away. Her cheeks burned read when she realized she was staring, but it was the frigid touch in her stomach that caused her to jump up. Hermione had accidentally leaned over her bowl of ice cream while tending to Malfoy and it had seeped through her shirt and onto her skin. "Sorry!" she said, springing back into her chair.

When she looked up from her shirt Malfoy's expert fingers were twirling a spoon and a smirk was plastered on his lips. This caused Hermione's cheeks to turned even redder. As if staining her shirt with chocolate ice cream wasn't enough. She stood up, excused herself and left. They way Malfoy wiggled his eyebrows at her before leaving gave her a feeling that her staring had not gone by unnoticed and that he had not recoiled from her touch on purpose; but, why?

And why was her heart beating uncontrollably withing her chest?

* * *

**Okay, so I know I haven't updated in a while, but real life comes first, and I'm sure you all, or most of you, know that. The reason I'm writing this AN is because of a few anon reviews I've received. I don't want to come off as a bitch, but when someone is being ridiculously stupid then I have to say something about it. I received two reviews that held at least more than a hundred UPDATE! on it. At first, I thought it was cute. The second was just desperate. I'm sorry that I can't update on a regular basis, but I am NOT abandoning TPN if that's what some are worrying about. This is my baby and there's no way I'm leaving it. I also got a very bitchy review and while I LOVE reviews I would appreciate it if they were about something concerning my story and not my updating habits. If you have something to say then have the courage to PM me and I'd be glad to talk it out. :)**

**Now that I got THAT out of the way it's back to TPN. So I added a bit of Dramione that will lead to stuff that leads to other stuff that will then lead to even more STUFFS. I love STUFFS. XD**

**I know it's a bit short, but now that the school term is kind of coming to an end and I'm done with midterms I hope to be able to write more. **

**Later ninjas!**

**xoxo**


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